






















































JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


BOOKS BY 

WM. ELLIOT GRIFFIS 

BELGIAN FAIRY TALES 
DUTCH FAIRY TALES 
JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 
KOREAN FAIRY TALES 
SWISS FAIRY TALES 
WELSH FAIRY TALES 


THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 








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Princess Fire-Fly is put in prison 













































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Copyright, 1908, 

By THOMAS Y. CROWELL and CO. 
Copyright, 1923, 

By THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 


Printed in the United States of America 


JUL 26 ’23 n) ^ 

©C1A711365 


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A FOREWORD of DEDICATION 

TO 

EOBEET CLAEENCE PEUYN, LL.D. 
Dear Classmate : 

When in our Alma Mater, u on the banks 
of the old Earitan,” in 1865, you first told me 
about the soul of Japan and of her fairy and folk¬ 
lore, and when in 1866, the first two sons of Dai 
Nippon came to America to be our fellow-stu¬ 
dents in Eutgers College, I knew not that I was 
to be the pioneer foreign guest as educator, in a 
daimio’s castle, in the far interior of the Land 
of the Gods. 

There in both the City of the Happy Well, 
and in the capital, I heard from lords and ladies, 
as well as from the common people, the stories, 
ages old, of the pre-ancient fairy world, and the 
medieval folk-lore, of which Buddhism is the 
affluent mother. 

In this year, out of the treasures of the once 
hermit nation, now become one of the households 
in the community of nations, please accept this 
offering of stories, new and old, and walk with 
me through the jeweled gates you first opened to 
your fellow-student. With your name and that 
of your honored father—the envoy of President 
Lincoln in the land opened to the world’s brother¬ 
hood by Commodore M. C. Perry and Townsend 
Harris—the modern progress of Japan will ever 
be honorably associated. 

While proving the new, may the Princess 
Country ever hold to what is best in the old. 

Your fellow-lover of The Land of Dainty Deco¬ 
ration, in the bonds of friendship, 

William Elliot Griffis, 
Eutgers , '69. 










“ OPEN SESAME” 


I N the old feudal days of Japan, a knight or 
gentleman riding on horseback within city 
limits was always preceded by a groom, 
who ran ahead and shouted to the people to get 
out of the way, warning the children at play, 
lifting the babies out of danger, and thus mak¬ 
ing a clear track for the rider who followed him. 
His bare back was tattooed with wonderful 
figures of heroes, dragons and the many strange 
creatures that dwell in fairy-land. Indeed, 
when I lived in Japan I was first attracted into 
the wonder-world of the people by studying the 
legends and marvels thus pictured on human 
skin. Thence I went to the flower shows and 
tableaux, by which, in living blooms and in¬ 
geniously blended colors, the florists of Nippon 
set forth the national lore. My studies were 
more advanced and my delight greater when, in 
the art and language, new doors were opened 
into the treasure chambers of “ The Country Be¬ 
tween Heaven and Earth.” 

The stories in this little volume are the direct 
result of what I saw and studied through these 
inviting doors. Some were suggested by native 


viii 


“OPEN SESAME” 


custom, and artists’ pictures, while others were 
spun from my own brain. But all of them, I 
feel sure, reflect the spirit of Old Japan. “ The 
Fire-Fly’s Lovers,” “ The Child of the Thun¬ 
der,” “ Little Silver’s Dream,” “ Lord Cuttle- 
Fish’s Concert,” “ Lord Long-Legs’ Proces¬ 
sion,” and “ The Gift of Gold Lacquer,” exist in 
no Japanese text. They were suggested by what 
I saw of the lovely, the comic, or the pompous 
side of life in a Daimio’s Castle. Several of the 
others have been adapted from native legends 
and operas. Such old friends as “ The Tongue- 
Cut Sparrow,” “ The Ape and the Crab,” “ The 
Two Frogs,” and “ The Idol and the Whale,” 
are partly folk-lore, and partly of definite au¬ 
thorship. 

As for the Japanese names and phrases, I 
think you will have no trouble with them, if you 
will remember that a is pronounced as in father, 
ai as in aisle, e as in prey, ei as in weigh, o as in 
bore, and u as in rule, or as in boot. Thus, 
Fukui sounds as if spelled Foo-koo-ee, Benkei as 
Benkay, Rai as rye, etc. 

So, o ide nasari ” (please, honorable one, en¬ 
ter) as they say in Japan. 


W. E. G. 


CONTENTS 


FAGS 

I. Fire Glow and Fire Gloom - - 1 

II. The Fire-Fly’s Lovers 13 

III. A Bridge of Crocodiles 21 

IY. The Travels of the Two Frogs - 30 

Y. The Child of the Thunder 37 

YI. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow 43 

YII. The Ape and the Crab 48 

YIII. The Wonderful Tea-Kettle - 52 

IX. The Lady From the Silver Moon - 58 

X. Benkei and the Bell - - 73 

XI. Little Silver’s Dream - - 79 

XII. The Magic Frog 85 

XIII. The Thousand-Faced Jewel 95 

XIY. How the Jelly-Fish Lost His 

Shell ------ 102 

XY. Lord Cuttle-Fish’s Concert - - 110 

XYI. Raiko and His Guards - 118 

XYII. Raiko Slays the Demons - - 125 

XYIII. The Boy Brought Up in tue 

Woods ----- 135 

XIX. The Ambitious Carp - 142 

XX. Lord Long-Legs’ Procession - - 148 

XXI. How Tod a Slew the Long Serpent 157 
XXII. The Power of Love - 165 


X 


CONTENTS 


XXIII. 

XXIY. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 


The Tide-Jewels - 178 

The Idol and the Whale - - 182 
The Grateful Crane - - - 190 

The Sword That Mowed the 
Grass ------ 197 

Prince Yamato’s Adventures - 203 
The Gift of Gold Lacquer - - 210 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Princess Fire-Fly is put in prison (page 20) Frontispiece 

PAGE 

There lay a little boy, rosy and warm . . 39 

The spout of the kettle had turned into a badger’s 

nose.53 

He also learned how to govern the frogs . . 87 

This was the archer’s opportunity . . .119 

Lord Long-Legs’ Procession . . . .154 

The dragon-fishes, taking the ships’ cables in their 

mouths, towed them forward . . .176 

The Whale found he was two inches longer . 188 




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Japanese Fairy Tales 


i 

FIRE GLOW AND FIRE GLOOM 


W HEN Japan was all Fairy Land and 
the fairies were almost as numerous as 
every-day people are now, there were 
two brothers, both of whom were sons of one 
mother, the Sun-goddess, who left them to rule 
the earth and the sea, while she went up to live and 
shine in the heavens and give plenty of light to 
the world. She named one of them, the younger, 
Fire Glow, and the other, the older. Fire Gloom, 
for their names matched their temper. Like a 
good mother, she gave each one something to do, 
to keep them busy and out of mischief. So to 
the younger she presented a bow and arrows and 
he became a hunter on the mountains. To the 
elder she gave a fish-hook and line and he became 
a fisherman. 

At that time the sky and earth were so close 
together that the Sun-goddess could climb up on 
a ladder, but after she got up in the blue sky to 
live in the sun, the ladder, which was made of 

1 


JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


2 

stone, fell down and broke into many pieces. 
Now it lies in the sea, in southern Japan, but the 
waves have broken off so much that the rocks that 
are left stick up out of the water like rungs on a 
ladder. 

The young hunter went off to the mountains 
and quickly won success. He brought home 
much game, deer, wild goats, rabbits, pheasants 
and many other fat birds, so that his servants and 
retainers had plenty to eat. 

But alas for the poor fisherman! He cast his 
hook and line in the water, sat down and waited 
long, tried often, but caught nothing. He came 
home wet and hungry. His people grumbled 
and pulled their girdles tighter around their 
empty stomachs, to forget their hunger. 

The two brothers talked over the matter and 
then agreed to change places, to improve their 
luck. The fisherman took the bow and arrows 
and went off hunting. The hunter took the hook 
and line and sat down on a rock by the sea to 
catch fish. 

But nothing happened. The hunter chased 
beasts and shot at birds, but got no game, while 
the fisherman saw fish swimming but could catch 
none. 

Worse to tell, while the younger brother had 
his line and cork bobbing in the water, a big, 
strong red fish called the Tai, came, looked at the 


FIRE GLOW AND FIRE GLOOM 3 


bait, snapped at it and swallowed it. Then it 
swam away with both line and hook in its mouth. 

The other brother came back empty handed 
from the hunt and in a bad humor, because he had 
spent all his arrows and got nothing. When he 
found that his hook and line were lost, he burst 
out in a fit of anger and spoke hard words. 

“ Re patient, brother,” said the younger to the 
elder. “ I’ll hunt everywhere for the hook and 
surely I shall find it, or else make new ones for 
you.” 

The older brother said nothing, but left him 
in an angry mood. 

What should the younger brother do now? 

He unbuckled his sword from his belt and went 
to the sword-maker and said: 

“ Make me five hundred fish-hooks of the best 
sort.” And this was done; for the sword was of 
the finest steel edge with a tough iron backing, 
and the man who forged blades was very skilful. 

Then he took the five hundred fish-hooks, all 
sharp and barbed, in a basket, and laying them on 
a ceremonial tray, begged his brother to accept 
of them in place of the lost hook. 

But his brother was still angry and turned his 
face away and would not look at the fish-hooks. 

“Take them away! Thousands of what you 
can make would not satisfy me. Don’t come 
near me, till you find and bring back my hook.” 


4 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Now the real truth was that the older brother, 
Prince Fire Gloom, hated the younger one, 
Prince Fire Glow, because he was the ruler of 
the Fairy Land of Japan, according to the order 
of the Sun-goddess; because their mother had 
chosen him to be such. The bad-tempered fel¬ 
low wanted to be ruler himself, which is the reason 
why he behaved so shamefully toward his younger 
brother. 

So down to the seashore with his basket of fish¬ 
hooks the younger brother went and sat down on 
a rock by the beach. He was very low in his 
mind and wondered what he could do to make his 
brother love him again, for in Japan the younger 
must always obey the elder brother. 

While sitting so dejected on the beach, he saw 
an old man walking toward him. It was the 
fairy named Lord Shiwo, who had charge of the 
tides, high tide and low tide, ebb and flood. He 
spoke kindly to the young man and asked how he 
could help him. 

Prince Fire Glow told him the story of his 
troubles, how he lost the fish-hook and line and 
how angry his brother was, so that he dared not 
face him till he had found the lost fishing tackle. 

“ Well, you’ll never find the hook here, even if 
you spend your lifetime hunting for it,” said 
Shiwo. “ It is either at the bottom of the sea, or 
in the mouth of some fish.” 


FIRE GLOW AND FIRE GLOOM 5 

“ Oh, oh! ” cried Prince Fire Glow. “ What 
can I do? Help me! ” he pleaded. 

“ Be at peace, my lad. I’ll make you a basket 
boat of bamboo and pitch and then you can go 
down into the Palace of the Dragon King of the 
World Under the Sea. Tell him your story, and 
that I sent you. Then he will call all the fishes, 
great and small, before him, and his servant Dr. 
Cuttlefish will find the hook for you.” 

So setting at once to work, the old fairy made 
for Prince Fire Glow a basket that was water¬ 
proof and that would sail of itself over the seas. 

Far, far away over the seas went Prince Fire 
Glow, until he came in sight of a wonderful pal¬ 
ace. The columns of the gates were of shining 
pink coral. The walls, turrets and towers were 
studded with precious stones without number and 
of many colors. Large and beautiful trees over¬ 
shadowed the space before the gates and in one 
part there was a well. It was full of pure water, 
which seemed on the top as level as the face of a 
mirror. 

So now he knew he was at Fukui, the City of 
the Happy Well, in the realm of the Dragon 
King. 

But the gate was fast shut and though he 
knocked lustily and listened long, no one an¬ 
swered his call. So, not knowing what was to 
come, he climbed up into one of the thick cassia 


JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


trees that hung over the well and waited. He had 
heard of the terrible dragons that served the King 
and obeyed all the royal commands. What if 
one of these monsters were to come out and de¬ 
vour him as an intruder? 

But instead of frightful dragons, what was his 
surprise to see the jeweled gates swing open and 
out stepped two lovely princesses in splendid 
robes! One carried a crystal vase and the other 
a pail of pure gold. Both wore splendid clothes, 
enriched with shining gems. 

When they came to the well to draw water, 
what was their surprise to see a face reflected in 
the surface of the clear water of the well. 
Neither of these fairy maidens, daughters of the 
Dragon King of the World Under the Sea had 
ever beheld either a mortal or a fairy man from 
the earth. So at first they were frightened. 
Yet they thought the face was very, very lovely. 

Their curiosity was so great, however, that 
they threw away their fears and glanced up into 
the tree. Timid as they were, they enjoyed the 
sight, for Prince Fire Glow had great manly 
beauty. Yet they were so dazed with wonder, 
that neither of the faiiy maidens could speak a 
word. 

But Prince Fire Glow at once saved them all 
further trouble, by leaping down from the tree, 
and at once saying: 


FIRE GLOW AND FIRE GLOOM 7 

“ I am a messenger from Shi wo, the fairy King 
of the Tides, and the palace gates being shut, and 
not being able to open them, I climbed the tree 
and waited, thirsty as I was, till some one came. 
Give me a drink, I pray you.” 

Still not speaking, but charmed by his grave 
and fine manners, the jewel maidens stepped to 
the well and drawing up water with the golden 
pail, one of them poured out some in a crystal cup 
and handed it politely to the Prince. 

Like a true Japanese fairy, Prince Fire Glow 
took the cup in both hands and first, before touch¬ 
ing it to his lips, lifted it up to his forehead. 
This was the polite way, in token of reverence to 
the giver. Then he drank and having quenched 
his thirst set down the cup on the well curb. 

While the maidens were wondering what their 
visitor would do next, they saw him draw his short 
sword—for all Japanese princes wore two of 
these weapons—and with this he cut off from his 
necklace one of the curved jewels such as princes 
wore. Then, dropping it into the cup, he handed 
both back to the elder of the two lovely fairy 
maidens. Her name was Tayo, which means 
Jewel of the first water. 

Then the maidens knew that their guest was of 
lordly birth. They began talking freely together 
and Prince Fire Glow found that these were the 
daughters of the Dragon King and they learned 


8 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

that he was a descendant of her Heavenly Maj¬ 
esty, the Sun-goddess. 

He told them the story of his trouble with his 
brother, of the lost fish-hook, and how the old 
King of the Tides had helped him to get to their 
father’s place in the curious bamboo boat. He 
asked if they would take him to their father and 
help him in his quest. 

They seemed only too delighted and promised 
to do all they could to help him. 

Then the elder, the Jewel Princess, left him 
with her younger sister and ran quickly to her 
father’s palace, telling her adventure and how she 
had seen a being, such as she had never gazed on 
before, and who was amazingly beautiful. He 
was coming to see the King and her younger sis¬ 
ter was bringing him. 

“ From all you tell me,” said her father, “ he 
must be a son of the Sun-goddess, and we must 
welcome and treat him handsomely. We shall 
provide a feast, and I shall expect you and your 
sister to make music and dance for us.” 

The Jewel Princess was only too glad to prom¬ 
ise and they had scarcely finished talking when 
her sister and Prince Fire Glow entered. They 
talked together for hours. Then the King 
clapped his hands, and in walked a procession 
of curious creatures that seemed to have been 
selected from all the fishes known in river, 


FIRE GLOW AND FIRE GLOOM 9 


lake, or sea. They were all attired in 
splendid robes. They walked on their tails and 
held in their fins every sort of delicious thing to 
eat. 

After the banquet, there was music by the pal¬ 
ace band and dancing by the two lovely 
princesses. Added to this was the fun-making 
by the cuttlefish, for he was both the funny fel¬ 
low and the doctor of the company. He per¬ 
formed all kinds of antics and tricks to amuse 
them all. 

So happy was the Prince that time passed 
away quickly before he knew it. Three years 
were thus spent,, before he became homesick and 
remembered what he had come for. 

When he told the Dragon King about the fish¬ 
hook, His Majesty called Dr. Cuttlefish and 
told him to summon all the creatures of the sea. 
All came quickly, except the Tai, but not one had 
a swelled mouth. Then Dr. Cuttlefish at once 
guessed that she was the sinner. So he ran off 
on his eight legs and in a few minutes brought 
her before the King. 

Her swelled throat and big mouth told the 
story. 

Dr. Cuttlefish put in a pair of tongs, drew out 
the hook, and having cleansed it, presented it with 
many bows and apologies to Prince Fire Glow. 
As the Tai had already suffered so long with a 


10 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

sore throat, the Prince asked the King not to 
punish her. So she was set free. 

When Prince Fire Glow asked of the King 
permission to go home and visit the earth again, 
His Majesty clapped his hands and called for 
one of his big crocodiles, that was to carry his 
guest back to earth. At once one of these long 
animals appeared all saddled and bridled for the 
journey. 

Before he left, the King called to his daughter 
to bring to him the twin jewels which controlled 
the tides. Forthwith she came forward holding 
in a shining shell, two globes of crystal that 
flashed out rays of light, almost like fire. 

“ This/’ said the King, “ is the Jewel of the 
Flowing Tide. Cast it down and the sea will 
come rolling in like a flood. And this,” added 
he, taking up the other, “ is the Jewel of the Ebb¬ 
ing Tide. Throw it into the sea and the tide will 
recede and leave the shore bare. They may help 
you in time of trouble. Good fortune attend 
your voyage. Fare thee well.” 

Prince Fire Glow thanked His Majesty and 
prepared to mount the crocodile’s back. Sor¬ 
rowfully the Princess said good-bye and then 
turned and wept. 

Prince Fire Glow got on the crocodile’s back, 
held on tight to the bridles and swiftly rode over 
thousands of miles. He landed at the place 


FIRE GLOW AND FIRE GLOOM 11 


where he had left Shiwo, the Fairy Lord of the 
Tides, three years before. 

Meanwhile, on earth, his wicked brother Prince 
Fire Gloom had become ruler of the realm and 
was very cruel to his people. When Prince Fire 
Glow stood before him, he was surprised and 
angry, for he hoped his brother was dead. He 
resolved to get rid of him. 

One day when walking on a hill above the rice- 
fields, his brother Prince Fire Gloom came near 
with a dagger in his hand, and would have killed 
his younger brother, but Prince Fire Glow saw 
him coming and at once took out from his girdle 
the Jewel of the Flowing Tide, and threw it out 
into the sea. In an instant, the waves came roll¬ 
ing and surging in. Both sight and the sound 
were terrible. 

Then it was amazing to see the antics of the 
once proud, but now frightened Prince Fire 
Gloom. Terrified, he jumped from hillock to 
hillock, to escape being drowned, sometimes 
almost turning a somersault, but although he 
climbed up a tree the waves caught him. He 
rolled over and over until, at the bottom of the 
hill, wet and well-soused, he crawled toward his 
brother and begged his life. He asked forgive¬ 
ness from Prince Fire Glow and promised to 
obey him. “ I will be your slave if you’ll spare 
my life,” said he. 


12 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Now Prince Fire Glow had no malice in his 
heart toward his brother. So, taking out from 
his girdle the other crystal jewel, he threw it 
down and back went the waters, the waves leap¬ 
ing and dancing to the sea again. 

After this Prince Fire Glow ruled the land, to 
which came great peace and prosperity. He 
married the princess Many-Rayed Jewel, the 
Dragon King’s daughter, and they lived happily 
ever after. From this pair sprang the line of 
Mikados or Emperors of Everlasting Great 
Japan, that have ruled the Land of the Cherry 
Blossoms for over two thousand five hundred 
years. 

Long afterward, the Story Teller lived in the 
City of the Happy Well and there this story was 
first told him. For hundreds of years, merry¬ 
makers, called Quick Men, gave exhibitions of the 
antics, the gestures, and the tricks of Prince Fire 
Gloom, as he tried to escape being drowned when 
the sea rolled in. Then, later in the Great East¬ 
ern capital, Tokyo, he saw the Imperial Band of 
the Mikado’s musicians from the palace, in their 
splendid dresses of gold and silver, in the No, or 
opera, with their music and dances, tell again, in 
acts and pose, in song and word, the wonderful 
fairy stories, like those of Prince Fire Glow and 
Prince Fire Gloom. 


THE FIRE-FLY’S LOVERS 


O N the southern and sunny side of the 
castle moats of the Fukui castle, in 
Echizen, the water had long ago become 
shallow so that lotus lilies grew luxuriantly. 
Deep in the heart of one of the great flowers 
whose petals were as pink as the lining of a sea- 
shell, lived the King of the Fire-Flies, Hi-o, 
whose only daughter was the lovely Princess 
Ho-ta-ru. While still a child the Princess had 
been carefully kept at home within the pink petals 
of the lily, never going even to the edges except 
to see her father fly off on his journey. Duti¬ 
fully she waited until of age, when the fire glowed 
in her own body, and shone, beautifully illumi¬ 
nating the lotus, until its light gleamed like a 
lamp within a globe of coral. 

Every night her light grew brighter and 
brighter, until at last it was as mellow as gold. 
Then her father said: 

“ My daughter is now of age, she may fly 
abroad with me sometimes, and when the proper 
suitor comes she may marry whom she will.” 

13 


14 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


So Hotaru flew forth in and out among the 
lotus lilies of the moat, then into rich rice-fields, 
and at last far off to the indigo meadows. 

Wherever she went a crowd of suitors followed 
her, for she had the singular power of attracting 
all the night-flying insects to herself. But she 
cared for none of their attentions, and though 
she spoke politely to them all she gave encour¬ 
agement to none. Yet some of the sheeny¬ 
winged gallants called her a coquette. 

One night she said to her mother, the Queen: 

“ I have met many admirers, but I do not 
wish a husband from any of them. To-night I 
shall stay at home, and if any of them love me 
truly they will come and pay me court here. 
Then I shall lay an impossible duty on them. If 
they are wise they will not try to perform it; but 
if they love their lives more than they love me, I 
do not want any of them. Whoever succeeds 
may have me for his bride.” 

‘‘As you will, my child,” said the Queen- 
mother, who arrayed her daughter in her most 
resplendent robes, and set her on her throne in 
the heart of the lotus. 

Then she gave orders to her body-guard to keep 
all suitors at a respectful distance lest some stupid 
gallant, a Horn-bug or a Cockchafer dazzled by 
the light, should approach too near and hurt the 
Princess or shake her throne. 


THE FIRE-FLY'S LOVERS 15 


No sooner had twilight faded away, than forth 
came the Golden Beetle, who stood on a stamen 
and making obeisance, said: 

“ I am Lord Green-Gold. I offer my house, 
my fortune, and my love to Princess Hotaru.” 

44 Go and bring me fire and I will be your 
bride,” said Hotaru. 

With a bow of the head the beetle opened his 
wings and departed with a stately whirr. 

Next came a shining bug with wings and body 
as black as lamp-smoke, who solemnly professed 
his passion. He received the same answer: 

“ Bring me fire, and you may have me for 
your wife.” 

Off flew the bug with a buzz. 

Pretty soon came the scarlet Dragon-Fly, ex¬ 
pecting so to dazzle the Princess by his gorgeous 
colors that she would accept him at once. 

“ I decline your offer,” said the Princess, “ un¬ 
less you bring me a flash of fire.” 

Swift was the flight of the Dragon-Fly on his 
errand, and in came the Beetle with a tremen¬ 
dous buzz, and ardently pleaded his suit. 

“ I will say £ yes ’ if you bring me fire,” said 
the glittering Princess. 

Suitor after suitor appeared to woo the daugh¬ 
ter of the King of the Fire-Flies until every petal 
was dotted with them. One after another in a 
long troop they appeared. Each in his own way. 


16 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

proudly, humbly, boldly, mildly, with flattery, 
with boasting, even with tears, proffered his love, 
told his rank or expatiated on his fortune or 
vowed his constancy, sang his tune or played his 
music. To every one of her lovers the Princess 
in modest voice returned the same answer: 

“ Bring me fire, and I’ll be your bride.” 

So without telling his rivals, each one thinking 
he had the secret alone sped away after fire. 

But none ever came back to wed the Princess. 
Alas for the poor suitors! The Beetle whizzed 
off to a house near by through the paper windows 
of which light glimmered. So full was he of his 
passion that thinking nothing of wood or iron, he 
dashed his head against a nail, and fell dead on 
the ground. 

The black bug flew into a room where a poor 
student was reading. His lamp was only a dish 
of earthenware full of rape seed oil with a wick 
made of pith. Knowing nothing of oil the love¬ 
lorn bug crawled into the dish to reach the flame 
and in a few seconds was drowned as in a sea. 

“ What’s that? ” said a thrifty housewife, sit¬ 
ting with needle in hand, as her lamp flared up 
for a moment, smoking the chimney, and then 
cracking it; while picking out the scorched bits 
she found a roasted Dragon-Fly, whose scarlet 
wings were all burned off. 

Mad with love the brilliant Hawk-Moth, afraid 


THE FIRE-FLY’S LOVERS 17 


of the flame yet determined to win the fire for 
the Princess, hovered round and round the candle 
flame, coming nearer and nearer each time. 
“ Now or never, the Princess or death,” he 
buzzed, as he darted forward to snatch a flash of 
flame, but singeing his wings, he fell helplessly 
down, and died in agony. 

“ What a fool he was, to be sure,” said the ugly 
Clothes-Moth, coming on the spot. “ I’ll get 
the fire. I’ll crawl up inside the candle.” So 
he climbed up the hollow paper wick, and was 
nearly to the top, and close to the blue part of the 
flame, when the man, snuffing the wick, crushed 
him to death. 

Sad indeed was the fate of the lovers of Hi-o’s 
daughter. Some hovered around the beacons on 
the headland, some fluttered about the great wax 
candles which stood eight feet high in their brass 
sockets in the temples of Buddha; some burned 
their noses at the top of incense sticks, or were 
nearly choked by the smoke; some danced all 
night around the lanterns in the shrines; some 
sought the sepulchral lamps in the graveyards; 
one visited the cremation furnace; another the 
kitchen, where a feast was going on; another 
chased the sparks that flew out of the chimney; 
but none brought fire to the Princess, or won the 
lover’s prize. Many lost their feelers, had their 
shining bodies scorched or their wings singed, but 


18 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

most of them alas! lay dead, black and cold next 
morning. 

As the priests trimmed the lamps in the shrines, 
and the servant maids the lanterns, each said 
alike: 

“ The Princess Hotaru must have had many 
lovers last night.” 

Alas! alas! poor suitors. Some tried to snatch 
a streak of green fire from the cat’s eyes, and 
were snapped up for their pains. One attempted 
to get a mouthful of bird’s breath, but was swal¬ 
lowed alive. A Carrion-Beetle (the ugly lover) 
crawled off to the seashore, and found some fish 
scales that emitted light. The Stag-Beetle 
climbed a mountain, and in a rotten tree stump 
found some bits of glowing wood like fire, but 
the distance was so great that long before they 
reached the castle moat it was daylight, and the 
fire had gone out; so they threw their fish scales 
and old wood away. 

The next day was one of great mourning, and 
there were so many funerals going on that Hi- 
maro the Prince of the Fire-Flies on the north 
side of the castle moat inquired of his servants the 
cause. Then he learned for the first time of the 
glittering Princess. 

Upon this the Prince, who had just succeeded 
his father upon the throne, fell in love with the 
Princess and resolved to marry her. He sent 


THE FIRE-FLY’S LOVERS 19 

his chamberlain to ask of her father his daugh¬ 
ter in marriage according to true etiquette. The 
father agreed to the Prince’s proposal, with the 
condition that the Prince should obey her behest 
in one thing, which was to come in person bring¬ 
ing her fire. 

Then the Prince at the head of his glittering 
battalions came in person and filled the lotus 
palace with a flood of golden light. But Hotaru 
was so beautiful that her charms paled not their 
fire even in the blaze of the Prince’s glory. The 
visit ended in wooing, and the wooing in wed¬ 
ding. On the night appointed, in a palanquin 
made of the white lotus-petals, amid the blazing 
torches of the Prince’s battalions of warriors, 
Hotaru was borne to the Prince’s palace, and 
there Prince and Princess were joined in wedlock. 

Many generations have passed since Hi-maro 
and Hotaru were married, and still it is the whim 
of all Fire-Fly princesses that their base-born 
lovers must bring fire as their love-offering or 
lose their prize. Else would the glittering fair 
ones be wearied unto death by the importunity 
of their lovers. Great indeed is the loss, for in 
this quest of fire many thousand insects, attracted 
by the Fire-Fly, are burned to death in the vain 
hope of winning the fire that shall gain the cruel 
but beautiful one that fascinates them. It is for 
this cause that each night insects hover around the 


20 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


lamp flame, and every morning a crowd of victims 
drowned in the oil, or scorched in the flame, must 
be cleaned from the lamp. This is the reason 
why young ladies catch and imprison the Fire- 
Flies to watch the war of insect-love, in the hope 
that they may have human lovers who will dare 
as much, through fire and flood, as they. 


Ill 


A BRIDGE OF CROCODILES 

I N old days there was a young and lively hare 
that lived on a hill in Japan. She was very 
proud of her white fur, but she was not satis¬ 
fied to live with the other hares. She wanted to 
be a traveler and know what was in the world. 
She was tired of seeing nothing but the same 
bamboo stalks and tea plants, the same monkeys 
and weasels. She would like to find what other 
creatures there were. The grass and flowers 
were no different from what her granddaddy had 
looked at, and besides her wish was to see other 
creatures besides brothers and sisters and uncles 
and aunts, cousins and neighbors in the hare 
family. 

Now this white hare lived on a little island 
which somebody long ago, for a joke, had called 
Oki, which is pronounced O-kee, and means Big 
or Great Island. From it she could see the main¬ 
land, lying off in the distant blue, and she was cu¬ 
rious to know what was there. 

So one day, hopping and jumping from the 
hill to the seashore, she looked over to the main- 
21 


22 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

land. There the high blue hills rose up toward 
the sky, as if to beckon her to come on. So 
standing up on her hind legs, she wiggled her 
front paws and rubbed them together in delight 
at the grand sight. No hare was ever happier 
than she was then. 

“ Oh! how can I get to that lovely land over 
there! ” 

Then she rubbed her fore-paws over her nose, 
like puss, when she washes her face. She was 
trying to think out a way to get across. 

Just then a big crocodile stuck its nose out of 
the water and began to swim and frolic near by, 
all the time blinking its left eye at her. 

“ What good luck! ” said Miss Hare to herself. 
“ I’ll ride on the crocodile’s back and cross over. 
It will be better than a boat.” 

But what if the crocodile wouldn’t agree to it? 
What then? 

Now on his part, the crocodile was very lonely 
and wanted company. He had swum out hoping 
to meet with some pleasant adventure, and was 
then just in the mood for something new. And 
here was a pretty, white-furred hare. What 
good luck! 

Now Miss Hare did not know what Mr. 
Crocodile might do, whether he would swallow 
her up in his big mouth or carry her on his back. 
She wondered why crocodiles have such long 


A BRIDGE OF CROCODILES 23 

jaws. She decided first to try a trick. Proud 
of her snowy fur, she would show her white coat 
and wink at the crocodile with her bright eyes. 

So she called out to the crocodile, “ It’s a 
lovely day and fine weather, isn’t it, Mr. Croco¬ 
dile? ” 

Now the crocodile was in a very frisky mood. 
So he answered, “ Did some one speak to me? 
Was it you, Miss Hare? You do look lovely, 
but lonely too.” Then he tried to smile and ap¬ 
pear at his best. 

“ Oh no, not very lonely,” answered Miss 
Hare, “ but I should love to have you crawl 
ashore and talk to me.” 

Upon this, the big, clumsy crocodile crawled 
up from the water and grunted out, “ Good¬ 
morning, Miss Hare, glad to see you,” and then 
they had a nice talk together for several hours. 
Finally she said: 

“ Excuse me, Mr. Crocodile. I have many 
hares in my company and I am Queen of them 
all—more hares than crocodiles surely, I think. 
How about it? ” 

Now the crocodile was as proud as a king and 
he at once replied: 

“ Oh no, there are thousands more in my king¬ 
dom than in yours. You live on a little island, 
but my home is in the vast ocean, which washes 
the shores of the great countries of the world. 


24 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


Were all the crocodiles, even in this one sea of 
Japan, brought together, and set even side by 
side, they would make a bridge that would stretch 
over to the mainland, so that you could skip across 
in a few minutes.” 

This was just what the cunning hare wanted, 
but she pretended not to believe what the croco¬ 
dile said. Yet to make certain, she dared the 
crocodile to try it. 

“ I believe you’re only boasting,” said she. 
“At any rate, I’d like to count how many you 
can bring here.” 

Now the crocodile, in spite of his being many 
yardsticks long, was a stupid fellow, and had 
only a spoonful of brains in his warty head. 
Never for a moment suspecting a trick, he swam 
off and in a few hours returned with hundreds of 
his crocodile companions. 

“ There,” said he, proudly, “ just look, Miss 
Hare. Why! I have enough of my fellows to 
make a bridge.” 

When the hare smiled as if she did not believe 
this possible, the big fellow boasted that, if neces¬ 
sary, he could build a bridge of crocodile backs 
that would reach to China. 

“ Now, Old Croc, all you say may be true, but 
I should like to see you first make a bridge just 
over to that land yonder,” said she. “ Besides 
how can I count them, unless you range your- 


A BRIDGE OF CROCODILES 25 


selves side by side. You can’t do it. I dare 
you! ” 

Old Croc was simple-minded, but he showed 
that he was a general. He bellowed out orders 
to his battalions of crocodiles to range themselves 
side by side, with their backs close together, until 
the whole distance from island to mainland was a 
level space of bony backs. No sooner was this 
done than Miss Hare leaped upon the first croco¬ 
dile and quickly stepping from one to another 
over their flat noses, cried out: 

“ Keep still, all of you, while I count—one, 
two, three, four, five, six.” 

It was a funny sight to see a mile of long 
snouts sticking out of the water, for the croco¬ 
diles’ noses were almost so flat that Miss Hare 
never once hurt her dainty hind paws as she 
stepped over as fast as her legs would carry her. 
So swiftly did Miss Hare hop, skip, jump and, 
once in a while, leap two noses at once, that in 
six wags of her tail she was over and across. 

Instead of saying “ thank you,” or “ I’m a 
thousand times obliged to you,” as polite Jap¬ 
anese little folks do, she jeered at the crocodiles 
as she jumped off the last horny back and 
shouted: 

“ Begone, Old Croc, with your stupid fellows! 
I don’t need you any more,” and she started to 
run away. 


26 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

But Old Croc, who was as mad as fire, ordered 
some of the youngest and swiftest crocodiles to go 
after her. They went fast too, with their tusks 
sticking out of their jaws. They chased the 
Hare around and caught her. They then pulled 
off all her white fur of which she was so proud, 
and left her shivering on the beach. 

“ Try it again, Miss Donkey Ears, if you can,” 
one snorted. Then they plunged in the water, 
swam away and reported to Old Croc, who was 
down in the dumps at being fooled. So all he 
said was: 

“ Aru-beki ” (served her right). 

Poor Miss Hare! She buried her body in the 
sand to keep warm, but she felt as naked as a 
baby in a bath-tub stripped of her beautiful 
white fur, of which she had been so proud, and 
wondered what she should do. 

While she was crying bitterly over her sad 
fate, along came some men. From the way their 
long hair was done up into two little puffs, one 
on each side of the head, they seemed to be 
princes. But one was very cruel, even though 
he spoke gentle words to her. When Miss Hare 
sobbed and between her tears had told her story, 
the cruel fellow said: 

“ Go bathe in the sea and then come and sit in 
the wind and your white fur will grow again.” 

But oh what pain! After Miss Hare had 


A BRIDGE OF CROCODILES 27 


bathed in the brine of the sea, she sat on the beach, 
while the breezes blew on her body. She felt 
chilly, but in a few minutes she was dry and she 
thought she would get her fur back. 

But soon her body was puckered, and she was 
in pain. Her skin first became hard, and 
cracked, while the salt maddened her with the 
misery it caused. 

While in this terrible condition, another prince 
came along, who was carrying a bag of grain on 
his back. Tenderly pitying Miss Hare, he asked 
what was the matter and who had pulled her fur 
all out. 

Cheered by the gentle tones of his voice, Miss 
Hare told the whole story of both the angry 
crocodiles, and the cruel man. Then she begged 
piteously for some medicine to make her hair 
grow again. 

“ Then you really did deceive the crocodile and 
you are suffering because of your folly? ” 

“ Yes, yes, ’tis true, but I am very sorry. 
Now won’t you tell me how to get my fur back 
again? ” 

“ Well, since you repent of your deceit, I shall 
tell you of a sure remedy. You see the fresh 
water pond over there? Go first and wash off all 
the salt from your body. Then on the shore you 
will find in the ground, beneath a certain sort of 
cherry tree, much of the pollen that has fallen 


28 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

from the flowers. Roll over and over in this 
pollen for a long time and your fur will surely 
grow again as before.” 

The prince went his way. Then Miss Hare 
took her bath, as he had told her, in the fresh 
water pond. After drying herself she rolled and 
rolled and rolled in the cherry blossom pollen. 

What was her surprise to find her fur growing 
on again, until she stood forth in her new dress 
as if she wore robes of ermine, soft as down and 
as white as snow. 

So quietly was all this done, that when she ran 
swiftly after the prince to thank him, she was 
able to catch up to him. Coming close to him, 
all out of breath, after showing her gratitude she 
begged to know what she could do for him in 
return for his kindness. 

“ Now please tell me who you are,” she said. 

“ I am not a prince, as you think me to be. I 
am a fairy being and those who passed on before 
me are my brothers. There is a lovely princess 
in this country, of whom they have heard. So 
all of them have gone on to see which one she will 
choose and marry. But I am only attending 
upon them and so I carry this bag for them. It 
contains their rice to eat.” 

At this Miss Hare was astonished and at first 
could hardly speak; for, when he spoke his name, 
she knew that the people honored him as the Lord 


A BRIDGE OF CROCODILES 29 

of the Land. Indeed they almost worshipped 
him. 

“ I am sure,” said she, 44 that the princess will 
not accept any of your brothers; but, when she 
hears of your kindness, will choose you, and I 
will hail you as her future husband.” 

However, the man paid little attention to what 
a hare might say and went on his way. 

But it was just as the White Hare said. One 
after another the brothers went up to the lovely 
princess and offered to marry her. Each one 
pleaded his cause and told of his abilities, but she, 
one by one, refused them all. Oh, how sorry and 
disappointed they were and some went home cry¬ 
ing! 

But when the lovely princess caught sight of 
the one with the kind face, she, without waiting to 
hear Miss Hare’s whole story, went forward to 
him and said: 

44 1 am yours. I give myself to you.” 

So there was a grand wedding and Miss Hare 
was given a place of honor. Instead of traveling 
abroad, she was content to live in the palace of the 
happy couple, who lived in peace and love ever 
afterward. 


THE TRAVELS OF THE TWO FROGS 


ONG, long ago, in the good old days be¬ 



fore the hairy-faced and pale-cheeked 


men from over the Sea of Great Peace 
came to Japan; before the black coal-smoke and 
snorting iron horse scared the white heron from 
the rice-fields; before black crows and fighting 
sparrows, which fear not man, perched on tele¬ 
graph wires, or ever a railway was thought of, 
there lived two Frogs—one in a well in Kioto, 
the other in a lotus-pond in Osaka, forty miles 


away. 


Now it is a common proverb in the Land of 
the Gods 1 that “ the frog in the well knows not 
the great ocean,” and the Kioto Frog had so 
often heard this scornful sneer from the maids 
who came to draw out water with their long 
bamboo-handled buckets that he resolved to 
travel abroad and see the world, and especially 
the great ocean. 

“ I’ll see for myself,” said Mr. Frog, as he 
packed his wallet and wiped his spectacles, 


1 Japan. 
30 


TRAVELS OF THE TWO FROGS 31 

“ what this great ocean is that they talk so much 
about. I’ll wager it isn’t half as deep or wide 
as my well, where I can see the stars even in day¬ 
light.” 

Now the truth was, a recent earthquake had 
greatly reduced the depth of the well and the 
water was getting very shallow. Mr. Frog in¬ 
formed the family of his intentions. Mrs. Frog 
wept a great deal; but, drying her eyes with her 
paper handkerchief, she declared she would count 
the hours on her fingers till he came back, and 
at eveiy morning and evening meal would set 
out his table with food on it, just as if he were 
at home. She tied up a little lacquered box full 
of boiled rice and snails for his journey, wrapped 
it around with a silk napkin, and, putting his 
extra clothes in a bundle, swung it on his back. 
Tying it over his neck, he seized his staff and 
was ready to go. 

" Sayonara ” cried he, as, with a tear in his 
eye, he walked away; for that is the Japanese 
for “ good-bye.” 

“ Sayonara ” croaked Mrs. Frog and the whole 
family of young frogs in a chorus. 

Two of the tiniest froggies were still babies, 
that is, they were yet pollywogs, with a half inch 
of tail still on them; and, of course, were carried 
about by being strapped on the back of their 
older brothers. 


82 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Mr. Frog being now on land, out of his well, 
noticed that the other animals did not leap, but 
walked upright on their hind legs; and, not wish¬ 
ing to be eccentric, he likewise began briskly 
walking the same way. 

Now it happened that about the same time the 
Osaka Frog had become restless and dissatisfied 
with life on the edges of his lotus-ditch. He had 
made up his mind to “ cast the lion’s cub into the 
valley.” 

“Why! that is tall talk for a frog, I must 
say! ” you may exclaim. “ What did he mean? ” 

To see what he meant, we will go back a bit. 
I must tell you that the Osaka Frog was a phi¬ 
losopher. Right at the edge of his lotus-pond 
was a monastery, full of Buddhist monks, who 
every day studied their sacred rolls and droned 
over the books of the sage, to learn them by heart. 
Our Frog had heard them so often that he could 
(in frog language, of course) repeat many of 
their wise sentences and intone responses to their 
evening prayers put up by the great idol Amida. 
Indeed, our Frog had so often listened to their 
debates on texts from the classics that he had him¬ 
self become a sage and a philosopher. Yet, as 
the proverb says, “ the sage is not happy.” 

Why not? In spite of a soft mud-bank, plenty 
of green scum, stagnant water, and shady lotus 
leaves, a fat wife, and a numerous family—in 


TRAVELS OF THE TWO FROGS 33 

short, everything to make a frog happy—his fore¬ 
head, or rather gullet, was wrinkled with care 
from long pondering of knotty problems, such as 
the following: 

The monks often came down to the edge of the 
pond to look at the pink and white lotus. One 
summer day, as a little frog, hardly out of his 
tadpole state, with a small fragment of tail still 
left, sat basking on a huge round leaf, one monk 
said to another: 

“ Of what does that remind you? ” 

“ The babies of frogs will become but frogs,” 
said one shaven pate, laughing. 

“ What think you? ” 

“ The white lotus flower springs out of the 
black mud,” said the other, solemnly, as both 
walked away. 

The old Frog, sitting near by, overheard them 
and began to philosophize: “Humph! The 
babies of frogs will become but frogs, hey? If 
mud becomes lotus, why shouldn’t a frog become 
a man? Why not? If my pet son should travel 
abroad and see the world—go to Kioto, for in¬ 
stance—why shouldn’t he be as wise as those shin¬ 
ing-headed men, I wonder? I shall try it, any¬ 
how. I’ll send my son on a journey to Kioto. 
I’ll ‘ cast the lion’s cub into the valley,’ ” which, 
you see, meant pretty much the same thing. 

Plump! splash! sounded the water, as a pair 


34 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


of webby feet disappeared. The “ lion’s cub ” 
was soon ready, after much paternal advice, and 
much counsel to beware of being gobbled up by 
long-legged storks, and trod on by impolite men, 
and struck at by bad boys. 

“ Even in the Capital there are boors,” said 
Father Frog. 

Now it so happened that the old Frog from 
Kioto and the “ lion’s cub ” from Osaka started 
each from his home at the same time. Nothing 
of importance occurred to either of them until, 
as luck would have it, they met on a hill near 
Hashimoto, which is half-way between the two 
cities. Both were footsore, and websore, and 
very tired, especially about the hips, on account 
of the unfroglike manner of walking, instead of 
hopping as they had been used to. 

“ Ohio gozarimasuT said the “ lion’s cub ” to 
the old Frog, by way of “ good-morning,” as he 
fell on all-fours and bowed his head to the 
ground three times, squinting up over his left eye, 
to see if the other Frog was paying equal defer¬ 
ence in return. 

“ Yes, good-day,” replied the Kioto Frog. 

“ It is rather fine weather to-day,” said the 
youngster. 

“ Yes, it is very fine,” replied the old fellow. 

“ I am Gamataro, from Osaka, the oldest son 
of Lord Bullfrog, Prince of the Lotus-Ditch.” 


TRAVELS OF THE TWO FROGS 35 


“ Your Lordship must be weary with your 
journey. I am Sir Frog of the Well in Kioto. 
I started out to see the 4 great ocean ’ from 
Osaka; but, I declare, my hips are so dreadfully 
tired that I believe that I’ll give up my plan and 
content myself with a look from this hill.” 

The truth must be owned that the old Frog 
was not only on his hind legs, but also on his 
last legs, when he stood up to look at Osaka; 
while the youngster was tired enough to believe 
anything. The old fellow, wiping his face, spoke 
up: 

“ Suppose we save ourselves the trouble of the 
journey. I have been told that this hill is half¬ 
way between the two cities, and while I see 
Osaka and the sea, you can get a good look at 
Kioto.” 

“ Happy thought! ” said the Osaka Frog. 

Then both reared themselves upon their hind¬ 
legs, once more, and stretching upon their toes, 
body to body, and neck to neck, propped each 
other up, rolled their goggles and looked steadily, 
as they supposed, on the places which they each 
wished to see. Now every one knows that a frog 
has eyes mounted in that part of his head which 
is front when he is down and hack when he stands 
up. 

Long and steadily they gazed, until, at last, 
their toes being tired, they fell down on all-fours. 


36 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


“I declare!” said the older Frog, “Osaka 
looks just like Kioto; and as for 4 the great 
ocean ’ those stupid maids talked about, I don’t 
see any at all, unless they mean that strip of 
river that looks for all the world like the Yodo. 
I don’t believe there is any 4 great ocean ’! ” 

“ As for my part,” said the other, “ I am sat¬ 
isfied that it’s all folly to go further; for Kioto 
is as like Osaka as one grain of rice is like an¬ 
other.” 

Thereupon both congratulated themselves 
upon the happy labor-saving expedient by which 
they had spared themselves a long journey, much 
leg-weariness, and some danger. They departed, 
after exchanging many compliments; and, drop¬ 
ping again into a frog’s hop, they leaped back in 
half the time—the one to his well and the other 
to his pond. There each told the story of both 
cities looking exactly alike; thus demonstrating 
the folly of those foolish folks called Men. As 
for the old gentleman in the lotus-pond, he was 
so glad to get the 44 cub ” back again that he never 
again tried to reason out the problems of philos¬ 
ophy. 

And so to this day the frog in the well knows 
not and believes not in the 44 great ocean.” The 
babies of frogs become but frogs, and it is vain to 
teach batrachians philosophy; for all such labor is 
44 like pouring water in a frog’s face.” 


V 


THE CHILD OF THE THUNDER 

I N among the hills of Echizen, within sight of 
the snowy mountain called Hakuzan, lived 
a farmer named Bimbo. He was very poor, 
but frugal and industrious; and was fond of 
children though he had none himself. He longed 
to adopt a son to bear his name, and often talked 
the matter over with his wife, but being so dread¬ 
fully poor both thought it best not to adopt any, 
until they had bettered their condition and in¬ 
creased the area of their land. For all the prop¬ 
erty Bimbo owned was the earth in a little gully, 
which he himself was reclaiming. A tiny rivulet, 
flowing from a spring in the crevice of the rocks 
above, after trickling over the boulders, rolled 
down the gully to join a brook in the larger valley 
below. Bimbo had with great labor, after many 
years, made dams or terraces of stone, inside 
which he had thrown soil, partly got from the 
mountain sides, but mainly carried in baskets on 
the backs of himself and his wife, from the valley 
below. By such weary toil, continued year in and 
year out, small beds of soil were formed, in which 
37 


88 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

rice could be planted and grown. The little rivu¬ 
let supplied the needful water; for rice, the daily 
food of laborer and farmer, must be planted and 
cultivated in soft mud under water. So the little 
rivulet, which once leaped over the rock and cut 
its way singing to the valley, now spread itself 
quietly over each terrace, making more than a 
dozen descents before it reached the fields below. 

Yet after all his toil for a score of years, work¬ 
ing every day from the first croak of the raven, 
until the stars came out, Bimbo and his wife 
owned less than an acre of terrace land. Some¬ 
times a summer would pass, and little or no rain 
fall; then the rivulet dried up and crops failed. 
It seemed all in vain that their backs were bent 
and their foreheads seamed and wrinkled with 
care. Many a time did Bimbo have hard work 
of it even to pay his taxes, which sometimes 
amounted to half his crop. Many a time did he 
shake his head, muttering the discouraged farm¬ 
er’s proverb, “ A new field gives a scant crop,” 
the words of which mean also, “ Human life is 
but fifty years.” 

One summer day after a long drought, when 
the young rice sprouts were turning yellow at the 
tips, the clouds began to gather and roll, and soon 
a smart shower fell, the lightning glittered, and 
the hills echoed with claps of thunder. But 
Bimbo, hoe in hand, was so glad to see the rain 




Wp S -/r 's4 

i 

mwimi 




wmmmm 


P B ^V'^ , V->jv>'\ 

> \ iffl 

«^^'<H''J®*s‘2£- 


< 1 vV 

Pill 


v,- 

v' ‘ ' 


W^m 


There lay a little boy, rosy and warm 













THE CHILD OF THE THUNDER 39 


fall, and the pattering drops felt so cool and re¬ 
freshing, that he worked on, strengthening the 
terrace to resist the little flood about to come. 

Pretty soon the storm rattled very near him, 
and he thought he had better seek shelter, lest 
the thunder should strike and kill him. For 
Bimbo, like all his neighbors, had often heard 
stories of the shaggy god of the thunder-drums, 
who lives in the skies and rides on the storm, 
and sometimes kills people by throwing out of 
the clouds at them a terrible creature like a cat, 
with iron-like claws and a hairy body. 

Just as Bimbo threw his hoe over his shoulder 
and started to move, a terrible blinding flash of 
lightning dazzled his eyes. It was immediately 
followed by a deafening crash, and the thunder 
fell just in front of him. He covered his eyes 
with his hands, but finding himself unhurt, ut¬ 
tered a prayer of thanks to Buddha for safety. 
Then he uncovered his eyes and looked down at 
his feet. 

There lay a little boy, rosy and warm, crow¬ 
ing in the most lively manner, and not frightened 
by the rain in the least. The farmer’s eyes opened 
very wide, but happy and nearly surprised out 
of his senses, he picked up the child tenderly in 
his arms, and took him home to his old wife. 

“ Here’s a gift from Heaven,” said Bimbo; 
“ we’ll adopt him as our own son and call him 


40 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Rai-taro,” which means “ the child of the thun¬ 
der.” 

The wife also was delighted with the pretty 
boy, and never tired of caring for him. So Rai- 
taro lived with them and became a very dutiful 
and loving child. He was as kind and obedient 
to his foster-parents as though he had been born 
in their house. He never liked to play with other 
children, but kept all day in the fields with his 
foster-father, sporting with the rivulet and look¬ 
ing at the clouds and sky. Even when the stroll¬ 
ing players and the “ Lion of Korea ” came into 
the village, and every boy and girl and nurse and 
woman was sure to be out in great glee, the child 
of the thunder stayed up in the field, or climbed 
on the high rocks to watch the sailing of the birds 
and the flowing of the water and the river far 
away. 

And now great prosperity came to the farmer, 
and he laid it all to the sweet child who had fallen 
to him from the clouds. It was very curious that 
rain often fell on Bimbo’s field when none fell 
elsewhere; so that Bimbo grew rich. He be¬ 
lieved that the boy Raitaro beckoned to the 
clouds, and they shed their rain for him alone. 

A good many summers passed by, and Raitaro 
had grown to be a tall and handsome lad, almost 
a man and eighteen years old. On his birthday 
the old farmer and the good wife made a little 


THE CHILD OF THE THUNDER 41 


feast for their foster-child. They ate and drank 
and talked of the thunder-storm, out of which 
Raitaro was born. 

Finally the young man said solemnly: 

“ My dear parents, I thank you very much for 
your kindness to me, but I must now say fare¬ 
well. I hope you will always be happy.’" 

Then, in a moment, before they had a chance to 
ask him what he meant, all trace of a human 
form had disappeared, and floating in the air they 
saw a tiny white dragon, which hovered for a mo¬ 
ment above them and then flew away. The old 
couple ran out of doors to watch it, and it seemed 
to their astonished gaze to grow larger as it went 
away. Bigger and bigger it grew, taking its 
course to the hills above, where the piled-up white 
clouds, which form on a summer’s afternoon, 
seemed built up like towers and castles of silver. 
Toward one of these the dragon moved, until, as 
they watched his form, now grown to a mighty 
size, it disappeared from view. 

The farmer and his wife knelt in reverence and 
said farewell, with tears in their eyes, yet with a 
strange peace in their hearts. After this, as they 
were now old and white-headed, they ceased from 
their toil and lived in comfort all the rest of their 
days. When they died their ashes were laid away 
in the cemetery of the temple yard, and their 
tomb was carved in the form of a white dragon, 


42 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


which in spite of mosses and lichens may still be 
seen among the ancient monuments of the little 
hamlet. 


VI 


THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW 



HERE was once an old man who had a 


wife with a very bad temper. She did 


not have any children, and would not take 
the trouble to adopt a son. So for a little pet he 
kept a tiny sparrow, and fed it with great care. 
The woman, not satisfied with scolding her hus¬ 
band, hated the sparrow. Her temper was espe¬ 
cially bad on wash days, when her back and knees 
were strained over the low tub, which rested on 
the ground. 

One day while the man was gone to his work 
in the rice-fields, the wife was washing the 
clothes, and had made some starch, and set it in 
a red wooden bowl to cool. While her back was 
turned, the sparrow hopped down on the edge 
of the bowl, and pecked at some of the starch. 
In a rage the woman seized a pair of scissors and 
cut off the tip of the sparrow’s tongue. Flinging 
the bird in the air she cried out, “ Now be off 
with you! ” So the poor sparrow, all bleeding, 
flew away. 

When the man came back and found the bird 


43 


44 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

gone, he made a great ado. He asked his wife, 
and she told him what she had done and why. 
The sorrowful old man grieved sorely for his pet, 
and after looking in every place and calling it by 
name, gave it up as lost. 

Days and weeks and months sped by, and the 
man was still older and more wrinkled, when one 
day while wandering over the mountains he again 
met his sparrow. “ Good-morning! ” he cried; 
and to his surprise and delight the sparrow an¬ 
swered him. The clipped tongue had given the 
bird power of speech. Then each bowed low and 
made mutual inquiries as to health. The sparrow 
begged the man to visit his humble abode, and 
meet his wife and two daughters. 

The man went with him and found a nice little 
house with a bamboo garden, tiny waterfall, step¬ 
ping stone and everything complete. Then Mrs. 
Sparrow brought in slices of sugar-jelly, rock- 
candy, sweet potato custard, and a bowl of hot 
starch sprinkled with sugar, and a pair of chop¬ 
sticks on a tray. Miss Sparrow, the elder daugh¬ 
ter, brought the tea-caddy and teapot, and in a 
snap of the fingers had a good cup of tea ready, 
which she offered on a tray, kneeling. 

“ Please help yourself. The refreshments are 
very poor, but I hope you will excuse our plain¬ 
ness,” said Mother Sparrow. The delighted old 
man, wondering in himself at such a polite family 


THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW 45 


of sparrows, ate heartily, and drank several cups 
of tea. Finally, on being pressed, he remained 
all night. 

For several days he enjoyed a visit at the spar¬ 
row’s home. He looked at the landscapes and the 
moonlight, feasted to his heart’s content, and 
played checkers with the little daughter. In the 
evening Mrs. Sparrow would bring out the re¬ 
freshments and the wine, and seat the guest on 
a silken cushion, while she played the guitar. Mr. 
Sparrow and his two daughters danced, sang, and 
made merry until the man leaning on the velvet 
arm-rest forgot his cares, his old limbs and his 
wife’s tongue, and felt like a youth again. 

But on the fifth day he said he must go home. 
His host was sorry to hear this, but brought out 
two baskets made of plaited rattan, such as are 
used in traveling, carried on men’s shoulders. 
Placing them before his guest, he said, “ Please 
do me the honor to accept a parting gift. Take 
either one you prefer.” 

Now one basket was heavy, and the other light. 
The old man, not being greedy, said he would 
take the lighter one. So with many thanks and 
bows and good-byes, he set off homeward. 

He reached his hut safely, but instead of a 
kind welcome his wife began to scold him for 
being away so long. He begged her to be quiet, 
and telling of his visit to the sparrows, opened 


46 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


the basket, while the scowling beldame held her 
tongue, out of sheer curiosity. 

Oh, what a splendid sight! There were gold 
and silver coin, and gems, and coral, and crystal, 
and amber, and a never-failing bag of money, and 
an invisible coat and hat, and rolls of books, and 
all manner of precious things. It seemed that 
they never would reach the bottom of that magic 
basket. 

At the sight of so much wealth, the woman’s 
scowl changed to a smile of greedy joy. “ I’ll 
go right off and get another present from the 
sparrows,” said she. 

Her husband plead with her not to go, saying 
that they already had more than enough to last 
them the rest of their lives. But she would not 
listen to him. Binding on her straw sandals, and 
tucking up her skirts, she seized her staff and 
set off on the road. 

Arriving at the sparrow’s house, she began to 
flatter Mr. Sparrow by soft speeches. Of course 
the polite bird invited her into his house, but 
nothing but a cup of tea was offered her, while 
his wife and daughters kept out of sight. See¬ 
ing that she was not going to get any good-bye 
gift, she made bold to ask for one. The sparrow 
then brought out and set before her two baskets, 
one heavy and the other light. She eagerly 
seized the heavier one, without so much as say- 


THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW 47 


ing “ thank you/’ and carried it back in triumph 
with her. When she got home she opened it, ex¬ 
pecting all kinds of riches. 

But the moment she took off the lid, a horrible 
cuttlefish rushed at her, a skeleton poked his 
bony fingers in her face, and a long, hairy ser¬ 
pent, with a big head and lolling tongue, sprang 
out and coiled around her, cracking her bones, 
and squeezing out her breath, till she died. 

After the good man had buried his wife, he 
adopted a son to comfort his old age, and with 
his treasures lived at ease all his days. 


VII 


THE APE AND THE CRAB 

I N the land where neither the monkeys nor 
the cats have tails, and the persimmons grow 
to be as large as apples and with seeds bigger 
than a melon’s, there once lived a land crab in 
the side of a sand hill. One day an Ape came 
along having a persimmon seed, which he offered 
to swap with the Crab for a rice-cake. The Crab 
agreed, and planting the seed in his garden went 
out every day to watch it grow. And so fertile 
is that country, that soon a fine tree had grown 
up from the seed. 

By and by the Ape came to visit the Crab, and 
seeing the tree laden with the yellow-brown fruit, 
he begged a few persimmons. The Crab, asking 
pardon of the Ape, said he could not climb the 
tree to offer him any, but agreed to give his visitor 
half, if he would mount the tree and pluck them. 

So the Ape ran up the tree, while the Crab 
waited below, expecting to eat the ripe fruit. 
But the Ape sitting on a limb first filled his 
pockets full, and then picking off all the best 
ones, greedily ate the pulp, and threw the skin 
48 


THE APE AND THE CRAB 49 


and stones in the Crab’s face. Every once in a 
while, he would pull off a green sour persimmon 
and hit the Crab hard, until his shell was nearly 
cracked. At last the poor Crab thought he would 
get the best of the Ape. So when his enemy had 
eaten his fill until he was bulged out, he cried 
out: 

“ Now, Ape, I dare you to come down head¬ 
foremost. You can’t do it.” 

The other would not take a dare, and at once 
began to descend, head downward. This was just 
what the Crab wanted, for all the finest persim¬ 
mons rolled out of his pockets on the ground. 
The Crab quickly gathered them up, and with 
both arms full ran off to his hole. The Ape was 
very angry at this trick. He kindled a fire, and 
blew the smoke down the hole, until the Crab 
was nearly choked and had to crawl out to save 
his life. Then the wicked Ape beat him soundly, 
and left him for dead. 

The Crab had not been long thus, when three 
travelers, a Rice-Mortar, an Egg, and a Wasp 
found him lying on the ground. They carried 
him into the house, bound up his wounds and 
while he lay in bed they planned how they might 
destroy his enemy. They all talked of the matter 
over their cups of tea, and after the Mortar had 
smoked several pipes of tobacco, a plan was 
agreed on. 


50 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


Taking the Crab along, stiff and sore as he 
was, they marched to the Ape’s castle. The 
Wasp flew inside, and found that their enemy 
was away from home. Then all entered and hid 
themselves. The Egg cuddled up under the 
ashes in the hearth; the Wasp flew into the closet; 
the Mortar hid behind the door; the Crab sat be¬ 
side the fire; and here they waited for the Ape to 
come home. 

Toward evening the Ape arrived, and throw¬ 
ing off his coat (which was just what the Wasp 
wanted) he lighted a match and kindling a fire 
hung on the kettle for a cup of tea, and pulled 
out his pipe for a smoke. Just as he sat down 
by the hearth to salute the Crab, the Egg in the 
fire burst and the hot yolk flew all over him and 
in his eye, nearly blinding him. He rushed out 
to the bathroom to plunge in the tub of cold 
water, when the Wasp flew at him and stung his 
nose. Slipping down, he fell flat on the floor, 
when the Mortar rolled on him and crushed him 
to death. Then the victorious party congratu¬ 
lated the Crab on their victory. Grateful for the 
friendship thus shown, the whole company, Crab, 
Mortar and Wasp lived in peace together. 

The Crab married the daughter of a rich crab 
that lived over the hill, and a great feast of per¬ 
simmons was spread before the bride’s relatives 
who came to see the ceremony. By and by a 


THE APE AND THE CRAB 51 


little crab was bom which became a great pet 
with the Mortar and Wasp. With no more apes 
to plague them, they lived very happily ever 
afterward. 


THE WONDERFUL TEA-KETTLE 


LONG time ago there was an old priest 



who lived in a temple and was very de¬ 


vout. He was also very poor. He 
cooked his own rice, boiled his own tea, swept his 
own floor, and lived frugally as an honest priest 
should do. 

One day the kettle in which he boiled water for 
his tea got broken, and he did not know what to 
do, as he had no money to buy a new one. But 
the next morning, behold! a shiny brass tea-kettle 
was sitting outside his door. Overjoyed he re¬ 
turned thanks, and built a fire in the square fire¬ 
place in the middle of the floor. A rope and 
chain to hold the rice-pot and tea-kettle hung 
down from the covered hole in the ceiling which 
did duty as a chimney. A pair of brass tongs 
was stuck in the ashes, and soon the fire blazed 
merrily. At the side of the fireplace, on the floor, 
was his tray filled with tiny teacups, a pewter 
tea-caddy, a bamboo tea-stirrer, and a little 
dipper. The priest having finished sweeping the 
ashes off the edges of the hearth with a little 


52 



The spout of the kettle had turned into a badger’s nose. 






































THE WONDERFUL TEA-KETTLE 53 


whisk-broom made of hawk’s feathers, was just 
about to put on the tea when “ suzz, suzz,” sang 
the shiny tea-kettle spout; and then “ pattari— 
pattari! ” said the lid, as it flapped up and down, 
and the kettle swung backward and forward. 

“What does this mean? ” said the old priest 
with a start; for, wonder of wonders, the spout 
of the kettle had turned into a badger’s nose with 
its big whiskers, while from the other side 
sprouted out a long bushy tail! 

“ Ho, ho! ” cried the priest, with a long string 
of Japanese words which would sound strange 
to you. And in terror he dropped the tea-caddy, 
spilling the green tea all over the matting, as 
four hairy legs appeared under the kettle, and 
the strange compound, half badger and half ket¬ 
tle, jumped off the fire, and began running 
around the room. To the priest’s horror it leaped 
on a shelf, puffed out its belly and began to beat 
a tune with its fore-paws as if it were a drum. 
The old priest’s pupils, hearing the racket, rushed 
in, and after a lively chase, upsetting piles of 
books and breaking some of the teacups, secured 
the badger, and squeezed him into a keg used for 
storing pickled radishes. They fastened down 
the lid with a heavy stone, and felt sure that the 
strong odor of the radishes would kill the beast, 
for no man could possibly survive such a smell, 
and it was not likely a badger could. 


54 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

The next morning the tinker of the village 
called in and the priest told him about his strange 
visitor. Wishing to show him the animal, he 
cautiously lifted the lid of the cask, lest the 
badger might, after all, be still alive, in spite of 
the strong vinegar pickles, when lo! there was 
nothing but the shiny brass tea-kettle. Fearing 
that the utensil might play the same prank again, 
the priest was glad to sell it to the tinker, who on 
his part secretly thought the priest had been 
dreaming, and was glad to give another kettle in 
exchange for it, and some cash to boot. He 
carried it proudly to his junk shop, though he 
thought it felt unusually heavy. 

The tinker went to bed as usual that night with 
his tiny paper-shaded lamp just back of his head. 
About midnight, hearing a strange noise like the 
flapping up and down of a pot-lid, he sat up in 
bed, rubbed his eyes, and there was the bewitched 
tea-kettle covered with fur and sprouting out 
legs. In short, it was turning into a haiiy beast. 

“ Don’t beat me or shut me in a vinegar keg,” 
it said, “ for I am really kind-hearted and wish 
you well.” 

“ What can I do for you? ” asked the tinker. 

“ Feed me a little rice now and then, and don’t 
put me on the fire as that stupid priest did. Look 
here.” 

Going over to a corner of the room and taking 


THE WONDERFUL TEA-KETTLE 55 


a fan from the rack, the badger climbed up on 
the frame of the lamp, and began to dance on its 
one hind leg, waving the fan with its fore-paw. 
It played many other tricks, until the man started 
up, and then the badger turned into a tea-kettle 
again. 

“ I declare,” said the tinker as he woke up next 
morning, and talked the matter over with his wife, 
“ I’ll just ‘ raise a mountain 91 on this kettle. It 
certainly is a very highly accomplished tea-kettle. 
I’ll call it by some high-sounding name and ex¬ 
hibit it to the public.” 

“ You’ve been dreaming,” scoffed his wife; 
“ that’s only an ordinary brass tea-kettle.” 

“ Just watch it and see,” replied the tinker. 

So they watched the next night, and sure 
enough it turned into a badger again. 

The delighted tinker hired a professional show¬ 
man for his business agent, and built a little 
theatre and stage. Then he gave an order to a 
friend of his, an artist, to paint scenery, with the 
sacred mountain Fujiyama in the background 
and cranes flying through the air, a crimson sun 
shining through the bamboo, a red moon rising- 
over the waves, with’ golden clouds and tortoises 
and such like. Then he stretched a tight rope of 
rice-straw across the stage, and the handbills be¬ 
ing stuck up in all the barber shops in town, and 

1 Earn my fortune. 


56 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


wooden tickets branded with “ Accomplished 
and Lucky Tea-Kettle Performance, Admit 
One,”—the show was opened. The house was 
speedily filled, the people coming in parties, 
bringing their teapots full of tea and picnic boxes 
full of rice, and eggs, and dumplings made of 
millet meal, sugared roast-pea cakes, and other 
refreshments; because they came to stay all day. 
Mothers brought their babies with them, for the 
children enjoyed it most of all. 

Then the tinker, dressed up in his wide cere¬ 
monial clothes, with a big fan in his hand, came 
out on the platform, made his politest bow and 
set the wonderful tea-kettle on the stage. At a 
wave of his fan, the kettle ran around on four 
legs, half badger and half kettle, clanking its lid 
and wagging its tail. How the children shouted; 
and so should you and I if we could only have 
been there! Next it turned into a badger, swelled 
out its body and beat a tune on it like a drum. 
It danced a jig on the tight rope, and walked the 
slack rope, holding a fan, or an umbrella in its 
paw, stood on its head, and finally at a flourish 
of its master’s fan became a cold brass tea-kettle 
again. The audience were wild with delight, and 
as the fame of the wonderful tea-kettle spread, 
many people came from great distances to see it 
perform. 

Year after year the tinker exhibited the wonder 


THE WONDERFUL TEA-KETTLE 57 


until he grew immensely rich. Then he retired 
from the show business, and out of gratitude took 
the old kettle to the temple again and deposited 
it there as a precious relic. The old priest was 
given a goodly sum of money to do nothing else 
but take care of it; and all his life it had all the 
rice and dumplings it wanted. After his death it 
turned into an ordinary kettle, and has stayed so 
ever since. If you don’t believe it, you can go to 
the temple some day and see it for yourself. 


IX 


THE LADY FROM THE SILVER 
MOON 

I N the Land of the Silver Moon, where a great 
many fairies live, every one is expected to 
have a sweet temper. They must never 
pout, or scowl, or look daggers, or put on a wry 
face at any one, or at any of the tasks they are 
set to do. 

This is the law and if any break it, they are 
condemned to go down and live in this world of 
mortals. 

Now it is thought by the moon ladies to be a 
very dirty place, where no moon fairy would want 
to live. Compared with life on the bright Silver 
Moon Land, it is a wretched hole. Those who 
live in our world are pitied by the fairies who 
think that mortal men and women are miserable 
creatures. 

So in Moon Land, everybody tries to be lovely. 
The first greeting, every day, is not “ good-morn¬ 
ing,” or “ how are you? ” but “ how is your tem¬ 
per? ” 


58 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 59 


Now there was a certain fairy, the daughter of 
the King of Moon Land, who broke the law and 
this story is about the way she was punished. 

She was very lovely to look at, in her splendid 
clothes and pretty face, of which she was very 
vain. And because she knew she was good look¬ 
ing—for the mirror told her so—she thought 
everybody must obey her. She often fell into fits 
of bad temper and then she behaved in a very 
naughty way. 

So the King of Moon Land said: “ Although 
she is my own daughter, I must correct her. If I 
banish her to the earth for a few years, she will 
get over her bad temper and be my sweet daugh¬ 
ter again.” 

So, ordering a silver chariot drawn by two 
winged dragons, he had her taken up out of bed 
while she was asleep and put in the chariot, well 
wrapped up, with a wise old fairy to look after his 
daughter. 

This old fairy was a wizard, who had orders to 
make the Princess as small in size as a man’s mid¬ 
dle finger. Then he was to take her to a bamboo 
forest and set her inside the hollow cane, on a 
joint. Besides this, he was to deposit within sev¬ 
eral of the bamboo stalks little piles of gold and 
silver. After doing this, he was to return at once 
to Moon Land. 

So after reducing her to a third of a span long, 


60 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


he left the little creature asleep in the bamlpo 
forest and came away. 

Now near by one of the groves of this bamboo 
forest lived an old fellow who got his living^ by 
cutting the tall canes and making them Into 
spoons, cups, fan handles, brushes and rakes and 
selling these in the town, not far away. This poor 
man and his wife had no children, but oh, how 
they wanted for one or more in their old age to 
care for them! 

One day rambling in that part of the bamboo 
forest in which the featheiy or fluffy variety was 
in blossom, he saw a light shining and rays that 
seemed to flash out of a bamboo joint. Going 
near it, he split open the stalk and there behold 
was a lovely little girl only a few inches 
tall. She was dressed in fine clothes such as the 
noble ladies wore at Court. Her body glistened 
like a star and she seemed glad to see him. 

He brought home the prize to his old wife, who 
was delighted. She was very obedient to her new 
parents and did many things to please them, so 
they were very happy. They gave her a name 
and title in Japanese, which means Princess 
Radiance of the Fluffy Bamboo, or, for short, 
Nayo. 

In a few years she grew up to be so fair and 
lovely that the fame of her beauty spread all over 
the land of Japan. What was even more 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 61 


wonderful, the old bamboo cutter found inside 
many of the bamboo stalks little stacks of gold 
and silver that were round like coins. So he 
grew very rich and by and by built a lovely 
mansion. Young men came from every part of 
the land to see her, but the Princess did not care 
to see any of them. After a while they came in 
such crowds, that the old bamboo cutter built a 
high fence around his house to keep them out; 
but even then they peeped through the palings 
hoping to catch a glimpse of her. 

As for wanting to marry, even a noble, the 
Moon Princess cared nothing. Her only wish was 
to get back to the silvery world in the sky, and 
this she fully expected sometime to do. She told 
her foster parents, the old man and woman, that 
she would not be a wife to any man on earth, not 
even to the Mikado himself. So the old man re¬ 
fused every suitor saying he would give her to 
wife to no one, or make her wed against her will. 
As she was so young, he did not press the matter, 
although in ancient Japan there were no old 
maids or old bachelors. Every girl was expected 
to marry. 

Yet all the same, dozens of men who were 
dazed to see the radiant maid kept on crowding 
around the house, hoping to see her come out. 
They peeped through cracks in the fence, or they 
climbed up trees, to get a view of her. Some 


62 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


even brought their lunches, of rice and fish and 
pickles, and waited all day in front of the gate to 
see it open and the Princess come out. 

It was all in vain that the old daddy told them 
to go away. Some of them did return to their 
homes, even hundreds of miles away, but soon 
they came back, for they were crazy to see her. 
They did not know her name, but when they 
talked about her, they spoke of Princess Radi¬ 
ance, Moonbeam, Splendor, Glory, and by many 
other pretty names. Even two Imperial princes, 
sons of the Mikado, came to try to win the 
wondrous maid. 

All this time, the old bamboo cutter did not 
know and never dreamed for a moment that her 
home was in the moon and that she might go back 
to it; but knowing that he and his wife were very 
old and likely soon to die, he wondered who would 
take care of his shining daughter. He could not 
think for a moment of leaving her alone, without 
a husband. 

So at last he went into her room and had a long 
talk with his daughter about getting married. 
The throng of lovers was increasing and it was 
not right to send them all away. She ought to 
prove them, and, to test their affection, she 
should lay upon each one some task to perform. 
If the young fellows, who declared that they were 
dead in love with her, were sincere, they must do 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 63 

some great thing, such as only a very wise or 
mighty man could accomplish. 

The Princess thought that this would be fair 
and she promised to wed the lover who did what 
she asked. 

When the old man gave her own message to 
the suitors outside, they all agreed and each one 
went off to obey her and get what was wanted. 
Not one but was sure he could win her for his 
wife. 

Now these were the tasks she laid on them and 
the things she wanted them to get and bring to 
her: 

1. To get Lord Buddha’s bowl, which he 
carried when begging alms. It was in India and 
made of stone, not lovely to look at, but very 
famous. Kings would gladly give diamonds for 
it. 

2. To get a jeweled branch from the tree, 
with golden roots and silver trunk, that grew on 
Horai, the Enchanted Island in the Eastern Sea. 

3. To bring her the robe made of the skin and 
fur of the magic animal known as the Fire-Proof 
Rat, that lived only in the distant mountains of 
China. 

4. To obtain the jewel of many colors from 
the dragon’s neck in the World Under the Sea. 

5. To get the precious Shell which the swal¬ 
low keeps hidden in its nest. 


64 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Now when the edict of the Princess was made 
public to the crowd of lovers that loitered around 
the gate and fence, they all scattered. They, who 
were poor men, knew that only the nobles or men 
who were rich could travel abroad and be able to 
get what was wanted, even if they were brave 
enough to go on the long voyage. 

So, for many months the Moon Lady was at 
peace and enjoyed herself among the flowers, 
while the old bamboo cutter and his wife loved 
the quiet of their home. 

It was only the rich noblemen that could afford 
to get the treasures which the Moon Princess 
wanted. They had money enough. Now we 
shall see whether these suitors for the maid’s hand 
were also brave and wise. 

In those days it took about three years to sail 
away in a junk, through the seas to India, and to 
face the hot winds and storms on the way. It 
made one’s blood run cold at the thought. What 
if the seeker should get into a typhoon and be 
drowned? 

So the lazy lover, though he was a prince, hid 
himself in the mountains for thirty-six months. 
Then, finding an old stone bowl, once used by 
beggars, he thrust it into a costly bag of silk 
brocade, to make it appear to be of great value; 
for the Japanese always keep jewels and precious 
things in satin or brocade bags. 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 65 


Then he penned a letter, such as lovers usually 
write, telling how he had sailed the seas over to 
get this holy man’s bowl. According to courtly 
custom, he fastened the bag with its contents to a 
sprig of flowers (not real ones, but made of silk) 
and sent them to the Princess. 

Now this lady from Moon Land, who had 
heard much about the great Lord Buddha, ex¬ 
pected to see a bowl which, though old and of 
stone, sparkled with its own light, or was gemmed 
with diamonds. Eagerly opening the bag and 
seeing only the letter and a dirty old bowl, hardly 
worth looking at, she sent it back. 

The lover threw the bowl away, but, instead of 
being ashamed of himself, kept on writing love 
verses on perfumed paper and sent them to her. 
But the Princess from Moon Land paid no more 
attention to him. 

So nowadays, they say of people who have no 
shame, “ He has thrown away his bowl.” 

The second prince also pretended to sail away 
to distant seas and lands, and to have landed on 
the floating island, on which the high mountain 
of Horai reaches to the skies. He said he had 
found a branch of gems that grew on trees of gold 
and silver. 

He came to the bamboo cutter’s palace, in 
clothes all dusty with travel and told a big story 
about storms at sea, and being nearly drowned 


66 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


in the high waves, and of dragons and the jewel 
islands and how, after four hundred days, he had 
arrived home. Now he had come to marry the 
Princess Moonbeam, as he called her. 

But while he was yet talking to her foster fa¬ 
ther, the Princess saw coming six men, who 
handed in a bill for a thousand days’ work on a 
jewel branch, which they had made for the prince. 
This fellow had only sailed away to an island 
three days distant and these jewelers had worked 
for him during three years, making the golden 
branch studded with gems. He had not paid 
them and now they wanted their money. 

Shamefaced and angry, the prince ran away to 
the mountains and hid himself. He was never 
heard of again. 

The nobleman who was to get the robe made of 
the fur of the fire-rat of China, sent a great sum 
of money to a friend in that country, who was 
able to get one of these strange and curious coats 
which are kept as relics in an idol temple. It was 
of a golden green color and of brilliant lustre and 
said to resist fire. The lover put this fur coat in 
a box of fine wood covered with gold lacquer 
sparkling with jewels. Then he hurried to the 
Bamboo Palace, surely expecting to bring away 
the Princess Moonbeam as his wife. 

Since the two lovers had played tricks upon 
the lady from the moon, she had become wary. 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 67 


So she ordered the robe to be put on the red-hot 
charcoal in the brazier, thinking it surely was fire¬ 
proof. 

But again a sham! In a moment it caught fire 
and went up in smoke. In less than two minutes 
nothing was seen but ashes. 

One more lover who had played the fool! Yet 
two more were to come and the Princess won¬ 
dered, “ what next? ” 

The fourth lover was named High Lord. He 
was a great boaster, but a coward also. He gave 
big sums of money to his hired men and told them 
to go off into distant lands and never come back 
till they brought to him the jewel of many colors 
from a dragon’s neck. 

So sure of winning the Princess was this cow¬ 
ard and boaster, that he built a splendid palace 
to put his wife in, when he should get her. It was 
full of rich and rare woods and brocade curtains. 
Even the ceilings of the rooms were made of 
silken threads. A thousand skeins of many 
bright colors were used. 

Yet a whole year passed and none of his men 
came back bringing the dragon jewel; for they 
had gone off and spent all his money. So High 
Lord went on a ship to inquire where dragon 
jewels could be bought or found, but a big storm 
coming on he grew very seasick. Finally, when 
on shore, he was in such a fright and had caught 


68 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

such a heavy cold that his eyes bulged out until 
they looked as if a plum had been fastened on his 
face, beneath each eye. He had lost all his 
money, so he had to travel back on foot. When 
he got home, footsore and weary, he never went 
near the Princess. He liked people to think he 
had secured the dragon jewel, but they did not 
believe him. Behind his hack they winked their 
eyes at each other. Then they laughingly said 
that the only jewels he brought back were plum 
jewels. 

So in old Japan, when people wanted a joke on 
any one who had failed, they said “ he brought 
home the plum jewel.” As for the splendid 
palace he had built, no one lived in it and in time 
it fell to pieces and the black crows used the silk 
of the ceilings to make their nests. 

The fifth lover, who was to find the strange 
sea-shell which the swallows hide in their nests, 
sent his men to search on all the nests that had 
been built in or near the smoke holes, which take 
the place of flues or chimneys, in Japanese 
kitchens. 

But not one shell could any of the twenty men 
discover. So in hot anger the lord went out to 
find one for himself. He had ropes and pulleys 
brought and then had himself hoisted up in a 
basket to the smoke hole. When he put his hand 
into a swallow’s nest it was dark but he felt some- 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 69 


thing. So, calling out, “ I’ve got it,” he gave or¬ 
ders to his men to lower him down. 

Most lustily they began to pull but the rope 
broke and he was nearly killed by the fall. When 
he came to his senses, he called for a candle, but 
found that what was in his hand was only a piece 
of hard dirt. At home, he nearly died of shame 
and disgrace. 

The Princess, hearing of his trouble, sent him 
her sympathy in a poem. He was just able to 
write back, thanking her, but soon became weak 
unto death and passed away. 

Being now well rid of all her lovers, the 
Princess used to sit night after night looking at 
the moon. When it was full and round, she 
would stretch out her arms, beckon with her hands 
or shade her eyes and gaze long and eagerly as if 
she saw some one in that bright jewel land in the 
bright sky. 

Even the Mikado heard of the beautiful girl 
and suddenly visiting the house, tried to catch 
hold of her dress and pull her away; but strange 
to say, she vanished out of his sight as if melted 
in a mist. 

Next morning she took on her old shape and 
form and told her foster parents the full story of 
who she was and how, for some offence, her fa¬ 
ther had banished her from the moon to the earth 
for a term of years. Twenty of these had now 


70 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

passed away and the King of Moon Land was 
coming for her. 

She was sad at leaving her kind earthly father 
and mother and the friends, who loved her, but 
she must obey her royal parents, whose mes¬ 
sengers would soon be at hand in a chariot and 
with an army of warriors. She really wanted to 
stay another year on earth, to comfort the old 
man and his wife, but the message of the Moon 
King she knew would be “ come at once.” 

When this was told the old man, he cried out, 
“ No, no, I’ll shoot any one who tries to take you 
away.” So he kept guard at the gate, while her 
mother inside the house held the Princess tight 
in her arms. 

On hearing the news, the Mikado gave orders 
to ten thousand of his trusty soldiers to stand 
guard on roof and wall and in the garden, and 
shoot at anything coming down from the skies. 

But it was in vain that the old man and the 
warriors boasted. She said that they were fool¬ 
ish to try to keep her. 

It was near midnight, when they ceased talk¬ 
ing. Then suddenly it grew bright as noonday, 
as if ten moons were shining. An army of men 
in glistening robes appeared; but when the 
Mikado’s soldiers tried to shoot at them, their 
fingers became numb and they were not able to 
draw their bows. As for the old man, he fell 


LADY FROM THE SILVER MOON 71 


down as if dead and the old woman dropped with 
face down on the mats. 

“ Come forth out of this wretched hut,” cried 
the leader of the moon host to the Princess. 
“ How can you live in such a filthy hole? ” 

Forthwith, a golden chariot, that seemed to 
have wings, rolled up to the door and one of the 
moon men handed her a vial containing the elixir 
of life. This was to purify her body from the 
taint of earth. Of this she took a swallow and 
put some in her inner clothing. 

Then, taking off her robe of brocade, she gave 
it to the old man as a keepsake, while one of the 
moon fairies handed her a shining dress with 
wings. Before putting it on, she wrote a letter 
to the Mikado full of thanks and regrets at leav¬ 
ing him, making him a present of the elixir. 
Those who swallowed the liquid were believed to 
live forever. 

Then, having put on her robe of feathers from 
Moon Land, she gave the word and in a moment 
the chariot rose to the clouds and her train of 
shining armies followed her. 

But so full of grief were both the old man and 
his wife, and even the Mikado, that none even 
tasted the elixir, for they forgot everything but 
their sorrow So in time all died. 

But the Mikado had ordered his men to find 
out which of the mountains of Japan was the 


72 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


highest, and therefore nearest to Heaven. At 
the top, they were to burn this medicine of long 
life, for the smoke would ever benefit his people. 

So they set forth and found a snow-white 
mountain, Fujiyama, and kindling a fire on the 
top, burnt both the letter and the deathless elixir. 

This is the reason why, even to this day, one 
sees the smoke rising from the Deathless Moun¬ 
tain, as they call it Fujiyama. 

Often has the story-teller heard men warmly 
debating whether men who write its name in 
Chinese letters should make Fuji mean “ Rich 
in Soldiers,” or “ No Two Such,” or “ Without a 
Match,” or “ No Second ”; because the Princess 
Moonbeam will never a second time visit the 
earth. 

Yet no people spend more time in enjoying 
the sight of the full moon than the Japanese. 
Many a house has a Moon Viewing Chamber, 
while the children hope the Princess of the Fluffy 
Bamboo will come back to earth. 


X 

BENKftl AND THE BELL 


O N one of the hills overlooking the blue, 
sky’s mirror of Lake Biwa, stands the 
ancient monastery of Miidera which was 
founded over twelve hundred years ago, by the 
pious Mikado Tenchi. 

Near the entrance, on a platform constructed 
of stoutest timbers, stands a bronze bell five and 
a half feet high. It has on it none of the writ¬ 
ing so commonly found on Japanese bells, and 
though its surface is covered with scratches it 
was once as brilliant as a mirror. This wonder¬ 
ful old bell is visited by thousands of people from 
all parts of Japan who come to wonder at it, for 
it has a great story to tell. 

Over two thousand years ago, say the priests, 
it hung in a temple in India which Buddha him¬ 
self built. After his death it got into the pos¬ 
session of the Dragon King, who gave it to the 
hero, Toda, as we shall see. Not being able to 
remove it, he presented it to the monks at 
Miidera. With great labor it was brought to the 
hilltop and hung in this belfry where it rang out 
73 


74 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


every morning and evening, filling the lake and 
hillsides with sweet melody. Its surface was as 
smooth and shiny as a looking-glass. 

Now it was one of the rules of the Buddhists 
that no woman should be allowed to ascend the 
hill or enter the monastery of Miidera. The 
foolish priests believed that if a woman should 
enter the door, an evil spirit, also, would slip in 
at the same time. This was why they made such 
a severe rule. 

But this only made a pretty woman in Kioto 
want to see it the more. Hearing of the polished 
face of the bell, this famous beauty resolved to 
ascend the hill to dress her hair and powder her 
face in the mirror-like surface. She chose an 
hour when she knew the priests would be too 
busy at study of the sacred books to notice her, 
then she ascended the hill and entered the belfry. 
Looking into the smooth surface, she saw her 
own sparkling eyes, her cheeks flushed rosy with 
exercise, her dimples playing, and then her whole 
form reflected as in her own silver mirror, before 
which she daily sat. Charmed as much by the 
largeness as the brilliancy of the reflection, she 
stretched forth her hand, and touching her 
finger-tips to the bell prayed aloud that she might 
possess just such a mirror of equal, size and 
brightness. 

But the bell was outraged at the impiety of 


75 


BENKEI AND THE BELL 

the woman’s touch, and the cold metal shrank 
back, leaving a hollow place, and spoiling the 
even surface of the bell. From that time forth 
the bell gradually lost its polish, and became dull 
and finally dark, like other bells. 

When big Benkei was a monk, belonging to 
another monastery, he was possessed of a mighty 
desire to steal this bell. So one night he went 
over to Miidera hill, cautiously crept up to the 
belfry and unhooked the bell from the great iron 
link which held it. How to get the heavy thing 
down the mountain was now the question. 

Should he let it roll down, the monks at 
Miidera would hear it bumping over the stones. 
Nor could he carry it in his arms, for being six¬ 
teen feet round, it was too big for him to grasp 
and hold despite his own huge strength. He 
could not put his head in it like a candle in a 
snuffer, for then he would not be able to see his 
way down. 

So climbing into the belfry he pulled out the 
cross-beam with the iron link, and hanging on 
the bell put the beam on his shoulder to carry 
it like a pair of scales. 

The next difficulty was to balance it, for he 
had nothing but his paper lantern to hang on 
the other end of the beam to balance the bell. It 
was a prodigiously hard task to carry his burden 


76 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

six or seven miles. It was 44 trying to balance a 
bronze bell with a paper lantern/’ for Benkei’s 
feat has passed into a proverb. 

The work made him puff and blow and sweat 
until he was as hungry as a badger, but he finally 
succeeded in hooking it up in the belfry at his 
own monastery. 

Then all his fellow priests got up, though at 
night, to welcome him. They admired his 
bravery and strength and wished to strike the bell 
at once to show their joy. 

‘‘No, I won’t lift a hammer or sound a note 
till you make me some soup. I am terribly 
hungry,” said Benkei, as he sat down on a cross¬ 
piece of the belfry and wiped his forehead with 
his cowl. 

So the priests got out the iron soup-pot, five 
feet in diameter, and kindling a fire made a huge 
mess of soup and served it to Benkei. The lusty 
monk sipped bowl after bowl of the steaming 
nourishment until the pot was empty. 

“ Now,” said he, “ you may sound the bell.” 

Five or six of the young priests mounted the 
platform and seized the rope that held a heavy 
log suspended from the roof. The manner of 
striking th£ bell was to pull back the log several 
feet, then let go the rope, holding the wood after 
the rebound. 

At the first stroke the bell quivered and rolled 


77 


BENKfil AND THE BELL 

out a most mournful and solemn sound which 
as it softened and died away changed into the 
distinct murmur: 

“ I want to go back to Miidera! I want to go 
back to Miidera! I want to go-o ba-a-ck to-o 
M-i-i-de-ra-ra-a-a-a! ” 

“Just listen to that!” said the priests. 
“ What a strange bell. It wants to go back. It 
is not satisfied with our ringing.” 

“Ah! I know what is the matter,” said the 
aged abbot. “ It must be sprinkled with holy 
water. Then it will be happy with us. Ho! 
page, bring hither the deep sea-shell full of sacred 
water! ” 

So the pure white shell full of the consecrated 
water was brought, together with the holy man’s 
brush. Dipping it in the water the abbot 
sprinkled the bell inside and out. 

“ I dedicate thee, oh, bell, to our service. 
Now strike,” said he, signaling to the bell-pullers. 

Again the young men mounted the platform, 
drew back the log with a lusty pull and let fly. 

“Miidera! I want to go back to Miidera!” 
moaned out the homesick bell. 

This so enraged Benkei that he rushed to the 
rope, waved the monks aside, and seizing the rope 
strained every muscle to jerk the beam its entire 
length afield, and then let fly with force enough 
to crack the bell. For a moment the dense 


78 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


volume of sound filled the ears of all like a storm, 
but as the vibrations died away, the bell whined 
out: 

“ Miidera! I want to go back to M-ii-de-ra! ” 

Whether struck at morning, noon or night the 
bell said the same words. No matter when, by 
whom, how hard or how gently it was struck, the 
bell moaned the one plaint as if crying, “ I want 
to go back to Miidera! ” “ I want to go back to 
Miidera! ” 

At last Benkei in a rage unhooked the bell, 
shouldered it beam and all, and set off to take 
it back. Carrying the bell to the top of the moun¬ 
tain, he set it down, and giving it a kick rolled 
it down the valley toward Miidera, and left it 
there. Then the Miidera priests found it and 
hung it up again. Since that time the bell has 
completely changed its note, until now it is just 
like other bells in sound and behavior. 


XI 


LITTLE SILVER’S DREAM 

L ITTLE SILVER was a girl who did not 
care for strange stories of animals, so 
much as for those of wonder-creatures in 
the form of human beings. Even of these, how¬ 
ever, she did not like to dream, and when the 
foolish old nurse would tell her ghost stories at 
night, she was terribly afraid they would appear 
to her in her sleep. 

To avoid this, the old nurse told her to draw 
pictures of a tapir on the sheet of white paper 
which was wrapped around her tiny pillow. 
These small pillows, you must know, are used by 
every Japanese girl in order to keep her well- 
dressed hair from being mussed or rumpled. 
The nurse told her what many old folks believe, 
—that if you have a picture of a tapir under the 
bed, or on the paper pillow-case, you will not 
have unpleasant dreams, as the tapir is said to 
eat them. So strongly do some people believe 
this that they sleep under quilts figured with the 
device of this long-snouted beast. If in spite of 
this precaution one should have a bad dream, he 
79 


80 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

must cry out on awaking, “ Tapir, come eat, 
tapir, come eat!” Then the tapir will swallow 
the dream, and no evil results will happen to the 
dreamer. 

Little Silver listened with open mouth to this 
account of the tapir, and then making the picture 
and wrapping it around her pillow, she fell 
asleep. I suspect that the red rice of which she 
had eaten so heartily at supper time, until her 
waist strings tightened, had something to do with 
her travels in dreamland. 

She thought she had gone down to Osaka, and 
there got on a junk and sailed far away to the 
southwest, through the Inland Sea. That night 
the waters seemed full of white ghosts of men 
and women. Some of them were walking on, and 
in, the water. Some were running about. Here 
and there groups appeared to be talking together. 
Once in a while the junk would run against one 
of them; and when Little Silver looked to see 
if he were hurt or knocked over, she could see 
nothing until the junk passed by, when the ghost 
would appear standing in the same place, as 
though the ship had gone through empty air. 

Occasionally a ghost would come up to the 
side of the ship, and in a squeaky voice ask for 
a dipper. While she would be wondering what 
a ghost wanted to do with a dipper, a sailor would 
quietly open a locker, take out a dipper having 


LITTLE SILVER’S DREAM 81 

no bottom^ and give one every time he was asked 
for them. Little Silver noticed a large bundle 
of these dippers ready. The ghosts would then 
begin to bail up water out of the seat to empty 
it in the boat. All night they followed the junk, 
holding on with one hand to the gunwale, while 
they vainly dipped up water with the other, try¬ 
ing to swamp the boat. If dippers with bottoms 
in them had been given them, the sailors said, the 
boat would have been sunk. When daylight ap¬ 
peared the shadowy host of people vanished. 

In the morning they passed an island, the 
shores of which were high rocks of red coral. A 
great earthen jar stood on the beach, and around 
it lay long-handled ladles holding a half-gallon 
or more, and piles of very large shallow red- 
lacquered wine cups, which seemed as big as the 
full moon. After the sun had risen some time, 
there came down from over the hills a troop of 
the most curious looking people. Many were 
short, little wizen-faced folks, who looked very 
old; or rather, they seemed old before they ought 
to be. Some were very aged and crooked, with 
hickory-nut faces, and hair of a reddish gray tint. 
All the others had long scarlet locks hanging 
loose over their heads, and streaming down their 
backs. Their faces were flushed as if by hard 
drinking, and their pimpled noses resembled huge 
red barnacles. No sooner did they arrive at the 


82 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

great earthen jar than they ranged themselves 
round it. The old ones dipped out ladles full, 
and drank of the wine till they reeled. The 
younger ones poured the liquor into cups and 
drank. Even the little infants guzzled quanti¬ 
ties of the yellow sake 1 from the shallow cups. 

Then began the dance, and wild and furious it 
grew. The leather-faced old sots tossed their 
long reddish-gray locks in the air, and pirouetted 
round the big sake jar. The younger ones of 
all ages clapped their hands, knotted their hand¬ 
kerchiefs over their foreheads, waved their dip¬ 
pers or cups or fans, and practiced all kinds of 
antics, while their scarlet hair streamed in the 
wind or was blown in their eyes. The dance over, 
they threw down their cups, and dippers, rested 
a few minutes and then took another heavy drink 
all around. 

“ Now to work! ” shouted an old fellow whose 
face was redder than his half-bleached hair, and 
who having only two teeth looked just like an 
imp. As for his wife, her teeth had long ago 
fallen out and the skin of her face seemed to have 
added a pucker for eveiy year since a half cen¬ 
tury had rolled over her head. 

Then Little Silver looked and saw them scatter. 
Some gathered shells and burned them to make 
lime. Others carried water and made mortar, 

1 A yellow wine made from rice. 


LITTLE SILVER’S DREAM 83 


which they thickened by a pulp made of paper, 
and a glue made by boiling fish skin. Some 
dived under the sea for red coral, which they 
hauled up by means of straw ropes, in great 
sprigs as thick as the branches of a tree. They 
quickly ran up a scaffold,, and while some of the 
scarlet-headed plasterers smeared the walls, 
others below passed up the tempered mortar on 
long shell shovels, to the hand mortar-boards. 
Even at work they had casks and cups of sake 
at hand, while children played in the empty kegs 
and licked the gummy sugar left in some of them. 

“ What is that house for? ” asked Little Silver 
of the sailors. 

“ Oh, that is the storehouse in which the King 
of the Demons lays up all the treasures of life 
and health and happiness and property, which 
men throw away or exchange for the sake he 
gives them. This is what they lose by making 
funnels of themselves.” 

“ Oh, yes,” said Little Silver to herself, as she 
remembered how her father had said of a certain 
neighbor who had lately been drinking hard, 
“ He swills sake like a Demon.” 

She also understood why picnic or “ chow- 
chow ” boxes were often decorated with pictures 
of these imps, with their cups and dippers. For, 
at these picnics, many men get drunk; so much 
so indeed, that after a while the master of the 


84 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


feast orders very poor and cheap wine to be served 
to the guests. He also replaces the delicate wine 
cups of eggshell porcelain, with big thick teacups 
or wooden bowls, for the guests when drunk are 
liable to shatter the others. Besides they do not 
know the difference. 

She also now understood why it was commonly 
said of a Mr. Matsu, who had once been very rich 
but was now a poor sot, “ His property has all 
gone to the Demons.” 

Just then the ship in which she was sailing 
struck a rock, and the sudden jerk woke up Lit¬ 
tle Silver, who cried out, “ Tapir, come eat; tapir, 
come eat! ” 

No tapir came that she could see, but if he 
had appeared I fear Little Silver would have 
been more frightened than she was by her dream 
of the ghosts; for, the next morning, she laughed 
to think how they had all their work a-dipping 
water for nothing. But she never forgot the 
Demon’s treasure-house of lost gold and happi¬ 
ness, whenever she saw any one drinking more 
sake than was good for him. 


THE MAGIC FROG 


O NCE upon a time there was a great lord 
who lived in the Island of the Nine Prov¬ 
inces. He had hut one son, a bright 
little fellow whom the people in admiration nick¬ 
named “ Young Thunder.” During one of the 
civil wars, the lord’s castle was taken, and he was 
slain; but by the aid of a servant the boy escaped 
and fled northward to a neighboring province, 
where he lived until he grew up to manhood. 

For many years the province had been infested 
with robbers who grew bolder and bolder. One 
day the faithful servant of Young Thunder was 
attacked, whereupon he made resistance and was 
slain by the robbers. The young man now left 
alone in the world led a wandering life in various 
parts of the Sunrise Kingdom. 

All this time he was consumed with the desire 
to revive the name of his father, and restore the 
fortunes of his family. He was exceedingly 
brave, and an expert swordsman, but his early 
misfortunes had made him an enemy of the law. 
So he became chief of a band of robbers, plun- 
85 


86 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


dered many wealthy merchants, and in a short 
time was rich in men, arms, and booty. He was 
accustomed to disguise himself as a beggar, or 
priest, or traveling tinker, and go in person into 
the houses of men of wealth, and thus learn all 
about their gates and guards, where they slept, 
and in what rooms their treasures were stored, so 
that success was easy. 

Hearing of an old man who lived in the high¬ 
lands, he started to rob him, and for this purpose 
put on the disguise of a pilgrim. But before he 
reached there a great snow-storm forced him to 
take refuge in a humble house by the way. 
Entering, he found a beautiful woman, who 
treated him with great kindness. This, however, 
did not change the robber’s wicked nature. At 
midnight, when all was still, he unsheathed his 
sword, and going noiselessly to her room, he 
found the lady absorbed in reading. 

Lifting his sword, he was about to strike at 
her neck, when, in a flash, her body changed into 
that of a very old man, who seized the heavy steel 
blade and broke it in pieces as though it were a 
stick. Then he tossed the bits of steel away, and 
thus spoke to the robber who stood amazed but 
fearless: 

“ I am a man of magic power, and I have 
lived in these mountains many hundred years, 
though my true body is that of a huge frog. I 



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THE MAGIC FROG 


87 


can easily put you to death, but I have another 
purpose. So I shall pardon you and teach you 
magic instead. But first you must promise to 
cease following your evil life.” 

Then the youth bowed his head to the floor, 
acknowledged his crimes to the old man, and 
begged to be received as his pupil. Thus it came 
about that he dwelt with the magician for several 
weeks, learned all the arts of the mountain spirits; 
how to cause a storm of wind and rain, and to 
make a deluge, and to control the elements at 
will. 

He also learned how to govern the frogs, and 
at his bidding they assumed gigantic size, so that 
on their backs he could stand up and cross rivers 
and carry enormous loads. 

When the old man had finished instructing 
him he said, “ Henceforth cease from robbing, 
or in any way injuring the poor. Take from the 
wicked rich, and those who acquire money dis¬ 
honestly, but help the needy and the suffering.” 
Thus speaking, the old man turned into a huge 
frog and hopped away. 

What this old mountain spirit bade him do, 
was just what Young Thunder wished. For you 
must know, this was in early days before there 
was much law or order, and people had to pro¬ 
tect themselves as best they could. So the young 
man set out on his journey with a light heart. 


88 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


“ I can now make the storm and the waters 
obey me, and all the frogs are at my command,” 
he said; “ but alas! the magic of the frog cannot 
control that of the serpent. I shall have to be¬ 
ware of his poison.” 

From that time forth the oppressed poor peo¬ 
ple rejoiced whenever avaricious merchants and 
extortionate money lenders lost their treasures. 
For when a poor farmer, whose crops failed, 
could not pay his rent or loan, on the date prom¬ 
ised, these hard-hearted money-lenders would 
turn him out of his house, seize his beds, mats, 
and rice-tub, and even the shrine and images on 
the god-shelf, to sell them at auction for a trifle, 
to their minions, who resold them at a high price 
for the money-lender, who thus got a double 
benefit. But whenever a miser was robbed, the 
people said, “ The Young Thunder has struck,” 
and then they were glad. In this manner his 
name soon became the poor people’s watchword 
in those troublous times. 

Yet he was always ready to help the innocent 
and honest, even if they were rich. One day a 
merchant was sentenced to death, though he was 
really not guilty. Young Thunder, hearing of 
it, went to the magistrate and said that he him¬ 
self was the very man who had committed the 
robbery. So the man’s life was saved, and 
Young Thunder was hanged on a large oak tree. 


THE MAGIC FROG 


89 


But during the night, his body changed into a 
bullfrog which hopped away out of sight, and 
off into the mountains. 

At this time, a young and beautiful maiden 
lived in the mountain district. Her character 
was very lovely. She was always obedient to 
her parents and kind to her friends. Her daily 
task was to go to the mountains and cut brush¬ 
wood for fuel. One day while thus busy, sing¬ 
ing at the task, she met a very old man, with a 
long white beard sweeping his breast, who said 
to her: 

“ Do not fear me. I have lived in this moun¬ 
tain many hundred years, but my real body is 
that of a snail. I will teach you the powers of 
magic, so that you can walk on the sea, or cross 
a river however swift and deep, as though it were 
dry land.” 

Gladly the maiden took daily lessons of the 
old man, and soon was able to walk on the waters 
as if they were the mountain paths. One day the 
old man said, “ I shall now leave you and resume 
my former shape. Use your power to destroy 
the wicked robbers. Help those who defend the 
poor. I advise you to marry the famous war¬ 
rior, Young Thunder, and unite your powers 
with his.” 

Thus saying, the old man shriveled up into a 
snail and crawled away. 


90 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

“ I am glad/’ said the maiden to herself, “ for 
the magic of the snail can overcome that of the 
serpent. If Young Thunder, who has the magic 
of the frog, should marry me, we could then de¬ 
stroy the son of the serpent, the terrible robber, 
Dragon-coil.” 

By good fortune, Young Thunder soon met 
the maiden, and being charmed with her beauty, 
and knowing her power of magic, he sent a mes¬ 
senger with presents to her parents, asking them 
to give him their daughter to wife. The parents 
agreed, and so the young and loving couple were 
married. 

Hitherto when Young Thunder had wished to 
cross a river, he had changed himself into a frog 
and swam across; or he had summoned a bullfrog 
before him, which increased in size until it was 
as large as an elephant. Then standing erect on 
its back, he had reached the opposite shore in 
safety. Now with his wife’s powers the two 
walked over the waters as though the surface 
were a hard floor. 

Soon after their marriage, war broke out in 
Japan between two famous clans. To help them 
fight their battles, and capture the castles of 
their enemies, one family besought the aid of 
Young Thunder, who agreed to serve them and 
carried their banner. Their enemies then secured 
the services of Dragon-coil. 


THE MAGIC FROG 


91 


This Dragon-coil was a dangerous and wicked 
robber whose father was a man, and whose mother 
was a serpent that lived at the bottom of a lake. 
He was perfectly skilled in the magic of the ser¬ 
pent, and by spurting venom on his enemies could 
destroy the strongest warriors. Collecting thou¬ 
sands of followers, he made great ravages in all 
parts of Japan, robbing and murdering good and 
bad, rich and poor alike. Loving war and de¬ 
struction, he was glad to join forces with one of 
the fighting clans. 

Now that the magic of the frog and snail was 
joined to one army, and the magic of the serpent 
aided the other, the conflicts were bloody and 
terrible, lasting through many years, and many 
men were slain on both sides. 

On one occasion, after a hard-fought battle, 
Young Thunder fled and took refuge in a monas¬ 
tery, with a few trusty vassals, to rest a short 
time. In this retreat a lovely princess was 
dwelling. She had fled from Dragon-coil, who 
wished her for his bride. She did not want to 
marry the son of a serpent, and hoped to escape 
him. She lived in fear of him continually. 
Dragon-coil, hearing at one time that both Young 
Thunder and the princess were at this place, 
changed himself into a serpent, and distilling a 
large mouthful of poison, crawled up to the ceil¬ 
ing in the room where Young Thunder lay sleep- 


92 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


ing, and reaching a spot directly over him poured 
the venom on his head. The fumes of the poison 
stupefied him and all his followers. Dragon-coil 
then changed into a man and seized the princess 
and made off with her. 

Gradually the faithful retainers awoke from 
their stupor to find their master delirious and 
near the point of death, and the princess gone. 

“ What can we do to restore our dear master 
to life? ” This was the question each one asked 
of the others, as with sorrowful faces and weep¬ 
ing eyes they gazed at his pallid form. They 
called in the venerable abbot of the monastery 
to see if he could suggest what might be done. 

“ Alas! ” said, the aged priest, “ there is no 
medicine in Japan to cure your lord’s disease; 
but in India there is an elixir which is a sure 
antidote. If we could get that, the master would 
recover.” 

“ Alas! alas! ” and a chorus of groans showed 
that all hope had fled, for the mountain in India, 
where the elixir was made, lay many hundred 
miles from Japan. 

Just then a youth, one of the pages of Young 
Thunder, arose to speak. He was but fourteen 
years old, and was a servant out of gratitude, 
for Young Thunder had rescued his father from 
many dangers and saved his life. He begged 
permission to say a word to the abbot, who, see- 


THE MAGIC FROG 93 

mg the lad’s eager face, motioned to him with 
his fan to speak. 

“ How long can our lord live?” asked the 
youth. 

“ He will be dead in thirty hours,” answered 
the abbot, with a sigh. 

“ If you will give me leave to go, I will pro¬ 
cure the medicine, and if our master is still liv¬ 
ing when I come back, he will get well.” 

Now this young page had learned magic and 
sorcery from the Tengus, or long-nosed elves of 
the mountains, and could fly high in the air with 
incredible swiftness. Speaking a few words of 
incantation, he put on the wings of a Tengu, 
mounted a white cloud and rode on the east wind 
to India. He bought the elixir of the mountain 
spirits, and returned to Japan in one day and a 
night. 

Although Young Thunder was about to expire, 
at the first touch of the elixir to his face he drew 
a deep breath, perspiration glistened on his fore¬ 
head, and in a few moments more he sat up. 

Soon he was well, and being now immune to 
the serpent’s poison, he fought a great battle 
against Dragon-coil and at last killed him. The 
princess was rescued and restored to her parents. 
For his brave deeds, Young Thunder was par¬ 
doned for all his misdeeds and his father’s estate 
was restored to him. There with his lovely wife 


94 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


he spent his remaining days in quiet and peace. 
They abjured magic, and instead reared a family 
of noble sons and daughters. Their name was 
known with love and honor in all Japan. 


XIII 


THE THOUSAND-FACED JEWEL 


I T was more centuries ago than one can count 
on his fingers, when a wedding took place 
between a princess of Japan and the Chinese 
emperor. The name of the bride’s father was 
Tan Kai Ko. 

The Japanese lady in China collected many 
precious objects and sent them over to her native 
country. Among these treasures was a most 
precious jewel, which was beyond all price. It 
was a globe of crystal, containing the face and 
image of the Lord Buddha, whom men of eastern 
Asia worshipped. Its fame had reached the dis¬ 
tant islands of Japan. 

The wonder of this jewel was that no matter 
which way the crystal ball was turned, even in 
a thousand ways, there was seen the face of the 
holy Buddha. So it was named the Thousand- 
Faced Jewel. Of old, it had been brought all 
the way from India to China. All Japan now 
rejoiced to have such an honor bestowed and that 
so precious a token was on its way across the seas 
to the Mikado’s Empire. 

95 


96 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

But alas! the ship that was to bring it to Japan 
struck on a rock and was wrecked and the jewel 
sank down, down to the bottom of the sea. There 
the terrible dragons, that guard the shrine of the 
King of the World Under the Sea, seized it and 
brought it to their master. 

Now as many ships were wrecked, or lost at 
sea in storms, and their cargoes sank beneath the 
waves, this king of the Ocean Under World had 
amassed countless treasures. Yet above them 
all, he accounted this Thousand-Faced Jewel as 
most precious. He set it in the strongest part of 
his castle at the bottom of the sea and appointed 
four dragons to guard it every minute. 

Far up on the earth, in the world of sunshine, 
Tan Kai Ko, the noble father of the bride, 
mourned for the lost jewel and made resolve to 
get it back. Going down to the seashore, he 
picked out the most famous girl diver, named 
Shin-ju, which means pearl, who was not afraid 
to dive into the deepest sea. After living with 
the fisher folk three years, he told her the story 
of the lost gem. The brave woman was at once 
fired with a desire to regain the jewel, for she 
loved the nobleman more than her own life. 

Among the fisherman and divers on the coasts 
of J apan, few among the men can excel the young 
fisher girls, who are like mermaids in diving deep 
and staying long under water. Opening their 


THOUSAND-FACED JEWEL 97 


eyes, when beneath the waves, they can find what 
they seek. 

So having great promises made to her, Shin-ju 
got herself ready to make the plunge far down 
into the deep sea. In spite of dragons and the 
great depth, she declared she would bring back 
the Thousand-Faced Jewel or die. 

On his part, Tan Kai Ko went first up to 
Kioto and borrowed the Mikado’s band to make 
music. This was to attract the dragons away 
from the shrine of Riu Giu, in the World Beneath 
the Sea, up to the surface of the earth. He also 
secured a light-giving crystal ball, which the diver 
girl was to put into her hair with which to light 
her path like a lamp beneath the waters. 

On her part, the diver got her father and 
brother to make a very long rope and coil it in 
the boat. Choosing a sunshiny day, the boat was 
rowed out to sea and then she tied the rope around 
her waist ready to dive. She grasped in her hand 
the long, flat two-edged knife with which she was 
wont to cut off the awabi, or sea slugs, from the 
rocks underneath the sea. Her boat was nearly 
a mile distant from that of the musicians. 

The band of music now began to play, and a 
few minutes after she made the plunge down, 
down, under the sparkling waves and disappeared 
from sight. 

At first nothing unusual was seen or heard, 


98 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


while the music went on. It was not long, how¬ 
ever, before here and there, on the right hand 
and the left, one could see the noses and fiery eyes 
of the dragons. They peered above the waves to 
see and hear what was going on. The mon¬ 
sters swam around the boat and played and 
frisked about it as if delighted with the sweet 
sounds. 

All this time the Shin-ju, the Ama, or diving 
girl, who had fastened the light-giving crystal 
in her front hair and stuck the knife in her belt, 
was far down below in the water. She had noth¬ 
ing on but her apron of straw. Having given 
the signal to her brothers to hold the rope, she 
leaped from the boat down, down, down, neath 
the sparkling waves. On, on, down, down, sink¬ 
ing in the deeps upon deeps, she dived, until she 
came to the glittering palaces, pagodas and tem¬ 
ples which belonged to the King of the World 
Under the Sea. 

These were too splendid to tell about in full, 
for they were built of Shippo, or the Seven Fa¬ 
mous Jewels. These were, in their order, pink 
coral, amber, mother-of-pearl, emerald, agate, 
pearls, crystal, and were set in gold and silver. 
Oh, how they did sparkle and shine! 

But the Ama cared little for these things at 
which, at another time, she would have been lost 
in wonder. What she cared most for was the 


THOUSAND-FACED JEWEL 99 


Thousand-Faced Jewel which she saw was kept 
in the innermost shrine. 

Happily the dragons, lured away by the music 
above, were away. So climbing over the wall, 
she came near the coveted prize which almost 
blinded her by its rays of dazzling light. Snatch¬ 
ing the jewel, she jerked the rope, as a signal to 
her father and brothers, to pull her up. 

By this time the chief dragon, beginning to 
suspect mischief, snorted to his fellow dragons 
to return to Riu Giu and guard the shrine. 
Swiftly they swam down, only to discover the 
jewel gone! 

At once they guessed that the diving girl had 
taken it, and instantly they all started off in pur¬ 
suit. By the lashing of the waves into foam, 
the brothers in the boat guessed that their sister 
was being chased by the dragons. So, with all 
their might and main, they tugged on the rope 
to pull her up. Would the dragons catch and 
devour her? How the sweat drops fell from 
their foreheads as they pulled! Even the noble¬ 
man, Tan Kai Ko, who was in the boat, helped 
to coil the long rope. 

But no one could be braver than that diving 
girl. Although the swiftest dragon was close to 
her and she was likely to be swallowed up, she 
knew, what all Japanese fisher maids believe, 
that no dragon will touch a dead body. That is 



100 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

the reason why, when people are drowned, unless 
the fishes eat up their bodies, they float ashore. 
For the King of the World Under the Sea and 
his dragons have a horror of dead bodies and will 
not touch a corpse. 

So the Ama, brave girl, leered at the fiery 
dragon coming after her, as much as to say, “You 
think you are going to get me, and the jewel too, 
don’t you? Rut you are mistaken.” 

Then she held up the Thousand-Faced Jewel 
to taunt the dragon and dared him to come on. 

Meanwhile, the men in the boat could see noth¬ 
ing, nor could they tell what was going on be¬ 
neath. The rope was so very long, and it took 
much time to hoist the girl into the boat, that they 
were almost ready to faint. The father feared 
for his daughter and the brothers for their sister, 
while the nobleman’s heart beat hard as he 
thought that both the girl and the jewel might be 
lost from him forever. 

Just when the foremost dragon was within a 
few feet of her, the girl shook the jewel almost 
in his face. Then, plunging her knife into her 
body, below her heart, she thrust the jewel into 
her flesh and up under her ribs, dying in a mo¬ 
ment, and her red blood clouding the water and 
blinding the dragons. 

At sight and odor of human blood, with horror 
at a dead body, the dragons, one and all, angry 


THOUSAND-FACED JEWEL 101 


and in bad temper at losing their prey, swam 
away and reported their failure to the king. 

What was the sorrow and dismay of father, 
brothers and the nobleman to pull up a corpse! 
Hope was turned into mourning and loud wail¬ 
ing took the place of the strains of music. For, 
out of respect for their grief, the musicians ceased 
playing. Laying a mat over the body of their 
sister and covering it up, the brothers rowed 
ashore and prepared for the burial. 

But when arranging her limbs and long hair 
in the white shroud of the dead, they noticed a 
gash in the left side of their sister’s body, and 
on pressing the edges, out rolled the Thousand- 
Faced Jewel, dazzling all with its flashing rays 
of light and for a moment nearly blinding those 
who stood near. 

Overjoyed at such devotion, the nobleman 
reared a glorious monument which had an inscrip¬ 
tion recounting the brave deed of Shin-ju, the 
Ama. Tan Kai Ko’s descendants were for gen¬ 
erations nobles at Court and long was the tale 
told of Ama, the brave rescuer of the Thousand- 
Faced Jewel. 


XIV 


HOW THE JELLY-FISH LOST HIS 
SHELL 

I N the days of old, the Jelly-fish was one of 
the retainers in waiting upon the Queen of 
the World under the Sea. In those days 
he had a shell, and as his head was hard, no one 
dared to insult him, or stick him with their horns, 
or pinch him with their claws, or scratch him with 
their nails, or brush rudely by him with their fins. 
In short, this fish instead of being a lump of jelly, 
as white and helpless as a pudding, as we see him 
now, was a lordly fellow that could get his back 
up and keep it high when he wished to. He 
waited on the Queen and right proud was he of 
his office. He was on good terms with the King’s 
Dragon, which often allowed him to play with his 
scaly tail, but never hurt him in the least. 

One day the Queen fell sick, and every hour 
grew worse. The King became anxious, and her 
subjects talked about nothing else but her sick¬ 
ness. There was grief all through the water- 
world; from the mermaids on their bed of sponge, 
and the dragons in the rocky caverns, down to the 
102 


THE JELLY-FISH 


103 


tiny gudgeons in the rivers, that were considered 
no more than mere bait. The jolly Cuttle-fish 
stopped playing his drums and guitar, folded his 
six arms and hid away moping in his hole. His 
servant the Lobster in vain lighted his candle at 
night, and tried to induce him to come out of his 
lair. The dolphins and porpoises wept tears, but 
the clams, oysters, and limpets shut up their shells 
and did not even wiggle. The flounders and 
skates lay flat on the ocean’s floor, never even 
lifting up their noses. The Squid wept a great 
deal of ink, and the Jelly-fish nearly melted to 
pure water. The Tortoise was patient and 
offered to do anything for the relief of the Queen. 

But nothing could be done. The Cuttle-fish 
who professed to be “ a kind of a ” doctor, offered 
the use of all his cups to suck out the poison, if 
that were the trouble. 

But it wasn’t. It was internal, and nothing 
but medicine that could be swallowed would reach 
the disease. 

At last some one suggested that the liver of a 
Monkey would be a specific for the royal sickness, 
and it was resolved to try it. The Tortoise, who 
was the Queen’s messenger, because he could 
live on both land and water, swim or crawl, was 
summoned. He was told to go upon earth to a 
certain mountain, catch a monkey and bring him 
alive to the Under-world. 


104 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Off started the Tortoise on his journey to the 
earth, and going to a mountain where the mon¬ 
keys lived, squatted down at the foot of a tree 
and pretended to be asleep though keeping his 
claws and tail out. There he waited patiently, 
well knowing that curiosity and the monkey’s 
love of tricks would bring one within reach of his 
talons. Pretty soon, a family of chattering 
monkeys came running along among the branches 
overhead, when suddenly a young fellow caught 
sight of the sleeping Tortoise. 

“ Is it possible? ” said the long-handed fellow; 
“here’s fun! Let’s tickle the old fellow’s back 
and pull his tail.” 

All agreed, and forthwith a dozen monkeys, 
joining hand over hand, made a long ladder of 
themselves until they just reached the Tortoise’s 
back. They didn’t use their tails, for Japanese 
monkeys have none, except stumps two inches 
long. However, he who was to be the tail end 
of this living rope, when all was ready, crawled 
along and slipped over the whole line, whisper¬ 
ing as he slid: 

“ ’Sh! don’t chatter or laugh, you’ll wake him 
up.” 

Now the Monkey expected to hold on the liv¬ 
ing pendulum by one long hand, and swinging 
down with the other, to pull the Tortoise’s tail, 
and see how near he could come to his snout 


THE JELLY-FISH 


105 


without being snapped up. For he well knew 
that a tortoise could neither jump off its legs nor 
climb a tree. 

One! Two! The monkey pendulum swung 
back and forth without touching. 

Three! Four! The Monkey’s finger-nails 
scratched the Tortoise’s back. Yet old Hard 
Shell pretended to be sound asleep. 

Five! Six! The Monkey caught hold of the 
Tortoise’s tail and jerked it hard. Old Tortoise 
now moved out its head a little, as if still only 
half awake. 

Seven! Eight! This time the Monkey in¬ 
tended to pull the Tortoise’s head, when just as 
he came within reach, the Tortoise snapped him, 
held him in his claws, and as the monkey pen¬ 
dulum swung back he lost his hold. In an in¬ 
stant he was jerked loose, and fell head-foremost 
to the ground, half stunned. 

Frightened at the loss of their end link, the 
other monkeys of the chain wound themselves 
up like a windlass over the branches, and squat¬ 
ting on the trees, set up a doleful chattering. 

“ Now,” said the Tortoise, “ I want you to go 
with me. If you don’t, I’ll eat you up. Get 
on my back and I’ll carry you; but I must hold 
your paw in my mouth so you will not try to run 
away.” 

Half frightened to death, the Monkey obeyed, 


106 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


and the Tortoise trotted off to the sea, swam to 
the spot over the Queen’s palace, and in a fillip 
of the finger was down in the gardens of the 
Under World. 

The Queen hearing of the Monkey’s arrival 
thanked the Tortoise, and commanded her cook 
and baker to feed him well and treat him kindly, 
for the Queen felt really sorry because he was to 
lose his liver. 

As for the unsuspecting Monkey he enjoyed 
himself very much, and ran around everywhere 
amusing the star-fishes, clams, oysters, and other 
pulpy creatures that could not run, by his rapid 
climbing of the rocks and coral bushes, and by 
rolling over the sponge beds and cutting all man¬ 
ner of antics. They had never before seen any¬ 
thing like it. Poor fellow! he would not have 
been so frolicsome if he had known what was in 
store for him. 

All this time however the Jelly-fish pitied him 
in his heart, and could hardly keep what he knew 
to himself. Seeing the Monkey in one of his gay¬ 
est moods, the Jelly-fish squeezed up near him 
and said: 

“ Excuse my addressing you, but I feel very 
sorry for you because you are very soon to be 
put to death.” 

“ Why? ” said the Monkey. “ What have I 
done? ” 


107 


THE JELLY-FISH 

“ OH, nothing,” said the Jelly-fish, “ only our 
Queen is sick and she wants your liver for medi¬ 
cine.” 

Then if ever any one saw a sick looking mon¬ 
key it was this one. As the Japanese still say, 
“ His liver was smashed.” He felt dreadfully 
afraid. He put his hands over his eyes, and im¬ 
mediately began to plan how to save both life and 
liver! 

After a while the clever fellow began to see a 
way out. Clapping his hand to his stomach he 
ran into the hall of the Queen’s palace and be¬ 
gan to weep bitterly. Just then the Tortoise, 
passing by, saw his captive. 

“ What are you crying about? ” he asked. 

“ Boohoo! ” cried the Monkey. “ When I left 
my home on the earth, I forgot to bring my liver 
with me, but hung it upon a tree, and now my 
liver will decay and I’ll die. Boohoo-hoo! ” and 
the poor Monkey’s eyes became red as a fish’s and 
streamed with tears. 

When the Tortoise told the Queen’s courtiers 
what the Monkey had said, their faces fell. 

“ Why, here’s a pretty piece of business! The 
Monkey is of no use without his liver. We must 
send him after it.” 

So they dispatched the Tortoise to the earth 
again, the Monkey sitting a-straddle of his back. 
They came to the mountain again, and the Tor- 


108 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


toise being a little lazy waited at the foot while 
the Monkey scampered off, saying he would be 
back in an hour. The two creatures had become 
so well acquainted that the old Hard Shell fully 
trusted the lively little fellow. 

But instead of an hour the Tortoise waited till 
evening. No Monkey came. So finding himself 
fooled, and knowing all the monkeys would take 
the alarm, he waddled back and told the Queen 
all about it. 

“ Then,” said the Queen after reprimanding 
her messenger for his silly confidence, “ the 
Monkey must have got wind of our intention to 
use his liver, and what is more, some one of my 
servants must have told him.” 

So the Queen issued an order commanding all 
her subjects to appear before the Dragon-King 
of the World under the Sea. Whoever did this 
wicked thing, must be punished speedily. 

Obedient to this command, the fish and sea 
animals of all sorts, that swam, crawled, rolled, 
or moved in any way, appeared before the 
Dragon-King, and his Queen—all except the 
Jelly-fish. This convinced the Queen that the 
Jelly-fish was the guilty one. She ordered the 
culprit to be brought into her presence, and be¬ 
fore all her retainers, she cried out: 

“You leaky-tongued wretch, for your crime of 
betraying the confidence of your sovereign, you 


THE JELLY-FISH 109 

shall no longer remain among shell-fish. I con¬ 
demn you to lose your shell.” 

Then she stripped off his shell, and left the 
poor Jelly-fish entirely naked and ashamed. 

“ Be off, you telltale! ” she ended. “ Hereafter 
all your children shall be as soft and defenceless 
as yourself.” 

The poor Jelly-fish blushed crimson, squeezed 
himself out, and swam off out of sight. Since 
that time all jelly-fishes have had no shells. 


XV 


LORD CUTTLE-FISH’S CONCERT 

D ESPITE the loss of the Monkey’s liver, 
the Queen of the World under the Sea, 
after careful attention and long rest, got 
well again, and was able to be about her duties 
and govern her kingdom. The news of her re¬ 
covery created the wildest joy in the Under¬ 
world, and from tears and gloom and silence, the 
caves echoed with laughter, and the sponge-beds 
with music. Every one had on a “ white face.” 
Drums, flutes and banjos, which had been hung 
up on coral branches, or packed away in shell 
boxes, were taken down, or brought out, and 
right merrily were they thrummed. The pretty 
maids of the Queen put on their ivory thimble- 
nails, and the Queen again listened to the sweet 
melodies on the harp, while down among the 
smaller fry of fishy retainers and the scullions of 
the kitchen, were heard the constant thump of the 
shoulder-drum, the bang of the big drum, and the 
loud cries of the dancers as they struck all sorts of 
attitudes with hands, feet and head. 

No allusion was openly made either to moil- 
110 


LORD CUTTLE-FISH 


111 


keys, tortoises, or jelly-fish. This would not 
have been polite. But the Jelly-fish, in a distant 
pool in the garden, could hear a merry mocking 
song which he felt to be directed against himself. 

But none of these musical performances were 
worthy of the Queen’s notice although as evi¬ 
dences of the joy of her subjects they did very 
well. A great many entertainments were gotten 
up to amuse the finny people, but the Queen 
was present at none of them except the one about 
to be described. How and why she became a 
spectator shall also be told. 

One night the Queen was sitting in the pink 
drawing-room, arrayed in her queenly robes, for 
she was almost recovered and expected to walk 
out in the evening. Everything in the room, 
except a vase of green and golden colored sponge- 
plant, and a plume of glass-thread, was of a pink 
color. Then there was a pretty rockery made 
of a pyramid of pumice, full of embossed rosettes 
of living sea-anemones of scarlet, orange, gray, 
and black colors, which were trained to fold 
themselves up like an umbrella, or blossom out 
like chrysanthemums, at certain hours of the day, 
or when touched, behaving just like four o’clocks 
and sensitive plants. 

All the furniture and hangings of the rooms 
were pink. The floor was made of mats woven 
from strips of mother-of-pearl, bound at the sides 


112 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

with an inch border of pink coral. The ceiling 
was made of the rarest of pink shells wrought 
into flowers and squares. The walls were dec¬ 
orated with the same material, representing sea- 
scenes, jewels, and tortoise-shell patterns. In 
the alcove was a bouquet of seaweed of richest 
dyes, and in the nooks was an open cabinet hold¬ 
ing several of the Queen’s own treasures, such as 
a tiara which looked like woven threads of crystal 
and a toilet box and writing case made of solid 
pink coral. The gem of all was a screen having 
eight folds, on which were depicted her palace 
and throne-room, the visit of Toda, and the pro¬ 
cession of the Queen, nobles, and grandees that 
escorted the brave archer, when he took his fare¬ 
well to return to earth. 

The Queen sat on the glistening sill of the 
wide window looking out over her gardens, her 
two maids sitting at her feet. Presently the 
sound of music wafted through the coral groves 
and crystal grottoes reached her ear. 

“How wonderful this is!” exclaimed the 
Queen, half aloud. “ What strange music is it 
I hear? It is neither guitar nor drum nor sing¬ 
ing. It seems to be a mixture of all. Harken! 
It sounds as if a band with many instruments 
were playing, and a chorus were singing.” 

True enough! It was the most curious music 
ever heard in the Under-world, for to tell the 


113 


LORD CUTTLE-FISH 

truth the voices were not in perfect accord, 
though all kept good time. The sound seemed 
to issue from the mansion of Lord Cuttle-fish, the 
palace physician. The Queen’s curiosity was 
roused. 

“ I shall go and see what it is,” said she, as she 
rose up. Then she recollected, and exclaimed: 
“ Oh, no, it would not be proper for me to be 
seen in public at this hour of the evening, and 
if it is in Lord Cuttle-fish’s mansion, I could not 
enter without a retinue. No, it would be beneath 
my dignity.” 

Curiosity, however, got the better of the Queen 
and off she started with only her two maids who 
held aloft over her head the long pearl-handled 
fans made of white shark’s fins. She had decided 
to go incognito. 

“ Besides,” thought she, “ perhaps the concert 
is to be given outside, in the garden. If so, I can 
easily look down and from the great green rock 
that overlooks it see all that is going on, and my 
lord the King need not know of it.” 

The Queen walked over her pebbled garden 
walk, avoiding the great highroad. The sound 
of the drums and voices grew louder as she ad¬ 
vanced, until when she reached the top of a green 
rock back of Lord Cuttle-fish’s garden, the whole 
performance was open to her view. 

It was so funny, and the Queen was so over- 


114 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

come at the comical sight, that she nearly fell 
down in her merriment. She utterly forgot her 
dignity, and laughed till the tears ran down her 
face. She was so afraid she would scream out, 
that she nearly choked herself with her sleeve, 
while her alarmed maids, though meaning noth¬ 
ing by their acts but friendly help, slapped her 
on the back to give her breath. And this is what 
she saw. 

There, at the top of a high green rock all 
covered with barnacles, on a huge tuft of sponge, 
sat Lord Cuttle-fish, playing on three musical 
instruments at once. His great speckled head, 
six feet high, like a huge bag upside down, was 
bent forward to read the notes of his music book 
by the light of a wax candle, which was stuck in 
the feelers of a prickly Lobster, and patiently 
held. Of his six pulpy arms one long one ran 
down like the trunk of an elephant, fingering 
along the pages of a music book. Two others 
were used to play the guitar. The small double 
drum was held by one arm on his shoulder and 
neck, while still another arm curled up in a bunch, 
punched it like a fist. Below him was a bass 
drum, set in a frame, and in his last arm was 
clutched a heavy drumstick which pounded out 
a tremendous noise. There the old fellow sat 
with his head bobbing, and all his six cuppy arms 
in motion, his rolling blue eyes ogling the notes, 


LORD CUTTLE-FISH 


115 


and his mouth like an elephant’s, screeching out 
the words of the song. 

All this time, in front of Lord Cuttle-fish, sat 
the Lobster holding up the light, and nodding 
his head in time to the music. 

But the audience, or rather the orchestra, was 
the funniest part of all. They could not be called 
listeners, for they were all performers. On the 
left was the lusty red-faced Bream with its gills 
wide open, singing at the top, or rather at the 
bottom, of its throat, and beating time by flap¬ 
ping its wide fins. A little Gudgeon, just behind 
silent and fanning itself with a blue flat fan, had 
disgracefully broken down on a high note. Next 
on the right was a long-nosed Gar-fish singing 
alto, and proud of its slender form. In the fore¬ 
ground squatted a great fat Frog with big bulg¬ 
ing eyes, singing bass, and leading the choir by 
flapping his webbed fingers up and down, with 
his frightful cavern of a mouth wide open. Next, 
sat the stately and dignified Mackerel, rather 
scandalized at the whole affair, who kept very 
still, refusing to join in. At the Mackerel’s 
right fin, squeaked out the stupid flat-headed 
Globe-fish with her big eye impolitely winking at 
the servant-maid just bringing in refreshments; 
for the truth was, all were very thirsty after so 
much vocal exercise. 

Just behind the Herring, with one eye on Lord 


116 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Cuttle-fish and one on the coming refreshments, 
was the Skate. The truth must be told that the 
entire right wing of the orchestra was very much 
demoralized by the smell of the steaming tea and 
eatables just about to be served. The Tortoise 
though continuing to sing, impolitely turned its 
head away from Lord Cuttle-fish, and its back 
to the Frog that acted as precentor. The Sucker, 
though very homely and bloated with fat, kept on 
in the chorus, and pretended not to notice the 
waiter and the tray and cups. Indeed, Madame 
Sucker thought it quite vulgar in the Tortoise to 
be so eager after the cakes and wine. 

Suddenly the music ceased to the relief of all 
the hungry ones. Lord Cuttle-fish kicked over 
his drum, unscrewed his guitar, and packed it 
away in his music box. He then slid along to 
the refreshment table, and actually amused the 
company by standing on his head and twirling 
his six cuppy arms around in the air like a wind¬ 
mill. 

At this Miss Mackerel was quite shocked, and 
whispered under her fan to the Gar-fish, “ It is 
quite undignified! What would the Queen say 
if she saw it? ” not knowing that the Queen was 
looking on. 

Then all sat down on their tails, propped up¬ 
right on one fin, and produced their fans to cool 
themselves off. The Lobster pulled off the can- 


LORD CUTTLE-FISH 


117 


die stump and ate it up, wiped his feelers, and 
joined the party. 

The liquid refreshments consisted of sweet and 
clear sake, tea, and cherry-blossom water. The 
solids were thunder-cakes, egg-cracknels, boiled 
rice, radishes, macaroni, lotus-root, and sweet 
potatoes. Side-dishes were piled up with flies, 
worms, bugs and all kinds of bait for the small 
fry—the finny brats that were to eat at the sec¬ 
ond table. The tea was poured by the servants 
of Lord Cuttle-fish. 

The Queen did not wait to see the end of the 
feast, but laughing heartily, returned to her pal¬ 
ace and went to sleep. 

After helping himself with all the cups of his 
arms out of the tub of boiled rice, until Miss 
Mackerel made up her mind that he was a glutton, 
and drinking like a shoal of fishes, Lord Cuttle¬ 
fish went home, coiled himself up into a ball, and 
fell asleep. He had a headache next morning. 
But the concert and feast had done the Queen 
more good than all her medicine. 


XVI 


RAIKO AND HIS GUARDS 

I N the hill country of Japan grew up a brave 
young warrior and clever archer who lived 
more than eight thousand moons ago. On 
account of his valor and skill in the use of the 
bow he was called to Kioto, to guard the imperial 
palace. At that time the Mikado could not sleep 
at night, because his rest was disturbed by a 
frightful beast which scared away even the sen¬ 
tinels in armor who stood on guard. 

This dreadful beast had the wings of a bird, 
the body and claws of a tiger, the head of a 
monkey, a serpent tail, and the crackling scales 
of a dragon. It came night after night upon 
the roof of the palace, and howled and scratched 
so dreadfully that the poor Emperor losing all 
rest, grew weak and thin. Not one of the guards 
dared to face it in hand-to-hand fight, and none 
had skill enough to hit it with an arrow in the 
dark, though several of the imperial corps of 
archers had tried again and again. When the 
young archer received his appointment, he re¬ 
solved to fight the dragon come what might. So 
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RAIKO AND HIS GUARDS 119 


he strung his bow carefully, sharpened his steel¬ 
headed arrows, stored his quiver, and mounted 
guard alone except for his favorite servant. 

It chanced to be a stormy night. The light¬ 
ning was very vivid, and the thunder-demon was 
beating all his drums. The wind swirled around 
frightfully, as though the wind-imp were empty¬ 
ing all his bags. Toward midnight, the falcon eye 
of the archer saw, during a flash of lightning, the 
awful beast sitting at the tip of the ridge-pole, 
on the northeast end of the roof. He bade his 
servant have a torch of straw and twigs ready to 
light at a moment’s notice, to loosen his sword 
blade in its sheath, and wet its hilt-pin. Then he 
fitted the notch of his best arrow into the silk 
cord of his bow. 

Keeping his eyes strained, he soon saw the 
glare now of one eye, now two eyes, as the beast 
with swaying head crept along the great roof to 
the place on the eaves directly over the Mikado’s 
sleeping-room. There it stopped. 

This was the archer’s opportunity. Aiming 
about a foot to the right of where he saw the eye 
glare, he drew his yard-length shaft clear back 
to his shoulder, and let fly. A dull thud, a fright¬ 
ful howl, a heavy bump on the ground, and the 
writhing of some creature among the pebbles, told 
in a few seconds’ time that the shaft had struck 
flesh. The next instant the servant rushed out 


120 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


with blazing torch and joined battle with his dirk. 
A short but fierce three-cornered fight ensued, 
but the warrior’s sharp sword soon finished the 
monster by cutting his throat. Then they flayed 
it, and the next morning the hide was shown to 
his majesty. 

All congratulated the brave archer on his valor 
and marksmanship. Many young men, sons of 
nobles and warriors, begged to become his pupils 
in archery. The Mikado ordered a noble of very 
high rank to present him with a famous sword 
named “ The King of Wild Boars,” and to give 
him a lovely maid of honor to wife. He was 
promoted to be captain of the guard, and given 
a high-sounding title. But he was also called 
Raiko, and by this name he is best known to all 
the boys and girls in Great Japan, who tell many 
tales of his skill and prowess. Under Captain 
Raiko were three brave guardsmen, one of whom 
was named Tsuna. The duty of these men-at- 
arms was to watch at the gates leading to the 
palace. 

It had come to pass that the Blossom Capital 
had fallen in a dreadful condition, because the 
guards at the other gates had been neglected. 
Thieves were numerous and murders were fre¬ 
quent, so that many good people were afraid to 
go out into the streets at night. Worse than all 
else, was the report that hill-demons were prowl- 


RAIIvO AND HIS GUARDS 121 

ing around in the dark to seize people by the hair 
of their heads. Then they would drag them away 
to the mountains, tear the flesh off their bones, 
and eat them up. 

The worst place in Kioto, to which the two¬ 
horned demons came oftenest, was at the south¬ 
western gate. To this post of danger, Raiko sent 
Tsuna, the bravest of his guards. 

It was on a dark, rainy, and dismal night, that 
Tsuna started, well-armed, to stand sentinel at 
the gate. His trusty helmet was knotted over his 
chin, and all the pieces of his armor were well 
laced up. His sandals were girt tight to his feet, 
and in his belt was thrust the trusty sword, 
freshly ground, until its edge was like a razor’s, 
and with it the owner could cut asunder a hair 
floating in the air. 

Arriving at the red pillar of the gate, Tsuna 
paced up and down the stone way with eyes and 
ears wide open. The wind was blowing fright¬ 
fully, the storm howled, and the rain fell in such 
torrents that soon the cords of Tsuna’s armor 
and his dress were soaked through. 

The great bronze bell of the temples on the 
hills boomed out the hours one after another, 
until a single stroke told Tsuna it was the hour 
of midnight. 

Two hours passed and still Tsuna was wide 
awake. The storm had lulled, but it was darker 


122 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

than ever. The hour of three rang out, and the 
soft mellow notes of the temple bell died away 
like a lullaby wooing one to sleep, spite of will 
and vow. 

The warrior, almost without knowing it, grew 
sleepy and fell into a doze. He started and woke 
up. He shook himself, jingled his armor, 
pinched himself, and even pulled out his little 
knife from the wooden scabbard of his dirk, and 
pricked his leg with the point of it to keep awake, 
but all in vain. Overcome by drowsiness, he 
leaned against the gate-post, and fell asleep. 

This was just what the Demon wanted. All 
the time he had been squatting on the cross-piece 
at the top of the gate waiting his opportunity. 
He now slid down as softly as a monkey, and 
with his iron-like claws grabbed Tsuna by the 
crest of his helmet, and began to drag him up 
into the air. 

In an instant Tsuna was awake. Seizing the 
imp’s hairy wrist with his left hand, with his right 
he drew his sword, swept it round his head, and 
cut off the Demon’s arm. Frightened and howl¬ 
ing with pain, the creature leaped from the post, 
and disappeared in the clouds. 

Tsuna waited with drawn sword in hand, lest 
the Demon might come again, but in a few hours 
morning dawned. The sun rose on the pagodas 
and gardens and temples of the capitol and the 


RAIKO AND HIS GUARDS 123 

Ninefold Circle of Flowery Hills. Everything 
was beautiful and bright. Tsuna returned to re¬ 
port to his captain, carrying the Demon’s arm in 
triumph. Raiko examined it, and loudly praised 
Tsuna for his bravery, and rewarded him with a 
silken sash. 

Now it is said that if a demon’s arm be cut off 
it cannot be made to unite with the body again, 
if kept apart for a week. So Raiko warned 
Tsuna to lock it up, and watch it night and day, 
lest it be stolen from him. 

Tsuna went to the stone-cutters who made 
images of Buddha, mortars for pounding rice, 
and coffers for burying money, and bought a 
strong box cut out of the solid stone. It had a 
heavy lid on it, which slid in a groove and came 
out only by touching a secret spring. Into this 
he put the severed arm. Then setting it in his 
bed-chamber, he guarded it day and night, keep¬ 
ing the gate and all his doors locked. He al¬ 
lowed no one who was a stranger to look at the 
trophy. 

Six days passed by, and Tsuna began to think 
his prize was sure, for were not all his doors tight 
shut? So he set the box out in the middle of the 
room, and twisting some rice-straw fringe in 
token of sure victory and rejoicing, he sat down 
in ease before it. He took off his armor and put 
on his court robes. During the evening, but 


124 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

rather late, there was a feeble knock like that of 
an old woman at the gate outside. 

Tsuna cried out, “ Who’s there? ” 

The squeaky voice of his aunt, as it seemed, 
who was a very old woman, replied, “ I want to 
see my nephew, to praise him for his bravery in 
cutting the Demon’s arm off.” 

So Tsuna let her in and carefully locking the 
door behind her, helped the old crone into the 
room, where she sat down on the mats in front 
of the box and very close to it. Then she grew 
very talkative, and praised her nephew’s exploit, 
until Tsuna felt very proud. 

All the time the old woman’s left shoulder was 
covered with her dress while her right hand was 
out. Finally she begged earnestly to be allowed 
to see the limb. Tsuna at first politely refused, 
but she urged until he slid back the stone lid just 
a little. 

“ This is my arm! ” cried the old hag, turning 
into a demon, and dragging it out of the casket. 

Up she flew to the ceiling, and was out of the 
smoke-slide through the roof in a twinkling. 
Tsuna rushed out of the house to shoot her with 
an arrow, but he saw only a demon far off in the 
clouds grinning horribly. While he looked, he 
saw the severed arm unite again with the body, 
and the Demon shook both fists at him in token of 
victory. 


XVII 

RAIKO SLAYS THE DEMONS 


W HEN the Demon flew away with its 
arm, Tsuna noticed that it went to the 
northwest. He told Raiko of the inci¬ 
dent, and plans were at once made to seek out 
and destroy the hill-demons. But just then 
Raiko fell sick with some strange disease and 
daily grew weaker and paler. When the Demons 
found this out they sent a three-eyed Imp to 
plague him. 

This Imp, which had a snout like a hog’s, three 
monstrous blue eyes, and a mouth full of tusks, 
was glad that the brave soldier could no longer 
fight the Demons. He would approach the sick 
man in his chamber, leer horribly at him, loll out 
his tongue, and pull down the lids of his eyes with 
his hairy fingers, until the sight sickened Raiko 
more and more. 

But Raiko, well or ill, always slept with his 
trusty sword under his pillow. He pretended to 
be greatly afraid, and to cower under the bed¬ 
clothes. Then the Imp grew bolder and bolder, 
but when it got near his bed, Raiko drew his 
125 


126 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

blade and cut the enemy across his huge double 
nose. This made the Imp howl and run away, 
leaving tracks of blood. 

When Tsuna and his band heard of their mas¬ 
ter’s exploit, they came to congratulate him, and 
offered to hunt out the Imp and destroy him. 

They followed the red drops until they came 
to a cavern in the mountains. Entering this they 
saw in the gloom a spider six feet high, with legs 
as long as a fishing-pole, and as thick as a giant 
radish. Two great yellow eyes glared at them 
like lamps. They noticed a great gaping wound 
as if done by a sword-cut on his snout. 

It was a horrible, nasty hairy thing to fight 
with swords, since to get near enough, they would 
be in danger of the creature’s claws. So Tsuna 
went and chopped down a tree as thick as a man’s 
leg, leaving the roots on, while his comrades pre¬ 
pared a rope to tie up the monster, like a fly in a 
web. Then with a loud yell, Tsuna rushed at the 
spider, felled it with a blow, and held it down 
with the tree and roots so it could not bite or use 
its claws. Seeing this, Tsuna’s comrades rushed 
in, and bound the monster’s legs tight to its body 
so that it could not move. Drawing their swords 
they passed them through the spider’s body and 
finished it. Returning in triumph to the city, 
they found their dear captain recovered from his 
illness. 


RAIKO SLAYS THE DEMONS 127 

Raiko thanked his brave warriors for their ex¬ 
ploits, made a feast for them, and gave them 
many presents. While they were eating he told 
them that he had received orders from the 
Mikado to march against the Demons’ den, 
slaughter them all, and rescue the prisoners he 
should find there. Then he showed them his com¬ 
mission written in large letters: 

“ I command you, Raiko, to chastise the De¬ 
mons.” 

At this time many families in Kioto were griev¬ 
ing over the loss of their children, and even while 
Tsuna had been away, several lovely damsels had 
been seized and taken to the Demons’ den. 

Lest the Demons might hear of their coming, 
and escape, the four trusty men disguised them¬ 
selves as wandering priests of the mountains. 
They covered their helmets with huge hats like 
washbowls made of straw woven so tightly that 
no one could see their faces. They covered their 
armor with very cheap and common clothes, and 
then after worshipping at the shrines, began their 
march. 

Quite pathless were the desolate mountains, 
for no one ever went into them except, once in a 
while, a poor wood-cutter or charcoal-burner; yet 
Raiko and his men set out with stout hearts. 
There were no bridges over the streams, and 
frightful precipices abounded. Once they had 


128 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

to stop and build a bridge by felling a tree, and 
walking across it over a dangerous chasm. Again 
they came to a steep rock, to descend which they 
must make a ladder of creeping vines. At last 
they reached a dense grove at the top of a cliff, 
far up to the clouds, which seemed as if it might 
contain the demon’s castle. 

Approaching, they found a pretty maiden 
washing some clothes which had spots of blood 
on them. They said to her, “ Sister, why are you 
here, and what are you doing? ” 

“ Ah,” said she, with a deep sigh, “ you must 
not come here. This is the haunt of Demons. 
They eat human flesh and they will eat yours. 
Look here,” she continued pointing to a pile of 
white bones of men, women and children, “ you 
must go down the mountain as quickly as you 
came.” Saying this she burst into tears. 

But instead of being frightened or sorrowful, 
the warriors nearly danced for joy. “ We have 
come here by the Mikado’s orders, to destroy the 
Demons,” said Raiko, patting his breast, where 
inside his dress in the damask bag was the im¬ 
perial order. 

At this the maiden dried her tears and smiled 
so sweetly that Raiko’s heart was touched by her 
beauty. 

“ But how came you to live among these can¬ 
nibal Demons? ” asked Raiko. 


RAIKO SLAYS THE DEMONS 129 

She blushed deeply as she replied sadly, 44 Al¬ 
though they eat men and old women, they keep 
the young maidens to wait on them.” 

44 It’s a great pity,” said Raiko, 44 but we shall 
now avenge our fellow subjects of the Mikado, 
as well as your shame and cruel treatment, if 
you will kindly show us the way up the cliff to 
the monster’s den.” 

44 Willingly,” she answered, 44 if you are not 
afraid.” 

They began to climb the hill, but they had not 
gone far before they met a monster who was a 
cook in the chief Demon’s kitchen. He was 
carrying a human limb for his master’s lunch. 
Raiko’s men gnashed their teeth silently, and 
clutched their swords under their coats, yet they 
courteously saluted the cannibal cook and asked 
for an interview with the chief. The Demon 
smiled in his sleeve, and beckoned them forward, 
thinking of the fine dinners his master would 
make of the four men. 

A few feet further, and a turn in the path 
brought them to the front of the Demon’s castle. 
Among tall and mighty boulders of rock, which 
loomed up to the clouds, there was an opening 
in the dense groves, thickly covered with vines 
and mosses like an arbor. From this point, the 
view over the plains below commanded a space 
of hundreds of miles. In the distance the red 


130 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

pagodas, white temple-gables, and castle towers 
of Kioto were visible. 

Inside the cave was a banqueting hall large 
enough to seat one hundred persons. The floor 
was neatly covered with new, clean mats of sea- 
green rice-straw, on which tables, silken cushions, 
arm-rests, drinking-cups, bottles and many other 
articles of comfort lay about. The stone walls 
were richly decorated with curtains and hangings 
of fine silken stuffs. 

At the end of the long hall, on a raised dais, 
our heroes presently observed, as a curtain was 
lifted, the chief Demon, of august, yet frightful 
appearance. He was seated on a heap of luxu¬ 
rious cushions made of blue and crimson crape, 
stuffed with swan’s down. He was leaning on a 
golden arm-rest. His body was quite red, and 
he was round and fat like a baby grown up. He 
had very black hair cut like a small boy’s, and on 
the top of his head, just peeping through the hair 
were two very short horns. Around him were a 
score of lovely maidens—the fairest of Kioto— 
on whose beautiful faces was stamped the misery 
they dared not fully show, yet could not entirely 
conceal. Along the wall other Demons sat or lay 
at full length, each one with his handmaid seated 
beside him to wait on him and pour out his wine. 
All of the Demons were of horrible aspect, which 
only made the beauty of the maidens more con- 


RAIKO SLAYS THE DEMONS 131 

spicuous. Seeing our heroes walk in the hall led 
by the cook, each banqueter was as happy as a 
spider, when in his lurking hole he feels the jerk 
on his web-thread that tells him a fly is caught. 
Each of them at once poured out a fresh saucer 
of sake and drank it down. 

Raiko and his men separated, and began talk¬ 
ing freely with the Demons until the partitions 
at one corner were slid aside, and a troop of little 
demons who were waiter-boys entered. They 
brought in many dishes, and the monsters fell to 
and ate. The noise of their jaws sounded like the 
pounding of rice mills. 

Our heroes were nearly sickened at the repast, 
for it consisted chiefly of human flesh, while the 
wine cups were made of empty human skulls. 
However, they laughed and talked and excused 
themselves from eating, saying they had just 
lunched. 

As the Demons drank more and more they 
grew lively, laughed till the cave echoed, and 
sang uproarious songs. Every time they grinned, 
they showed their terrible tusks, and teeth like 
fangs. All of them had horns, though most of 
these were very short. 

The chief Demon became especially hilarious, 
and drank the health of every one of his four 
guests in a skull full of wine. To supply him 
there was a tub full of sake at hand, and his usual 


132 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


drinking-vessel was a dish which seemed to be as 
large as a full moon. 

Raiko now offered to return the courtesies 
shown them by dancing “ the Kioto dance,” for 
which he was famous. Stepping out into the 
centre of the hall, with his fan in one hand, he 
danced gracefully and with such wonderful ease, 
that the Demons screamed with delight, and 
clapped their hands in applause, saying they had 
never seen anything to equal it. Even the 
maidens, lost in admiration of the polished court¬ 
ier, forgot tjieir sorrow, and felt as happy for the 
time as though they were at home dancing. 

The dance finished, Raiko took from his bosom 
a bottle of sake, and offered it to the chief Demon 
as a gift, saying it was the best wine of Sakai. 
The delighted monster drank and gave a sip to 
each of his lords saying, “ This is the best liquor 
I ever tasted. You must drink the health of our 
friends in it.” 

Now Raiko had bought, at the most skilful 
druggists’ in the capital, a powerful sleeping po¬ 
tion, and mixed it with the wine, which made it 
taste very sweet. In a few minutes all the De¬ 
mons had dropped off asleep, and their snores 
sounded like the rolling thunder of the moun¬ 
tains. 

Then Raiko rose up and gave the signal to his 
comrades. Whispering to the maidens to leave 


RAIKO SLAYS THE DEMONS 133 


the room quietly, they drew their swords, and 
with as little noise as possible slew the slumbering 
Demons one after another. The chief one lying 
like a lion on his cushions was still sleeping, the 
snores issuing out of his nose like thunder from 
a cloud. The four warriors approached him last 
and like loyal vassals as they were, they first 
turned their faces toward Kioto, reverenced the 
Mikado, and prayed for the blessing of the gods 
who made Japan. Raiko then drew near, and 
measuring the width of the Demon’s neck with 
his sword found that it would be short. Sud¬ 
denly, the blade lengthened of itself. Then lift¬ 
ing his weapon, he smote with all his might and 
cut the neck clean through. 

In an instant, the head flew up in the air gnash¬ 
ing its teeth and rolling its yellow eyes, while the 
horns sprouted out to a horrible length, the jaws 
opening and shutting like the edges of an earth¬ 
quake fissure. It flew up and whirled round the 
room seven times. Then with a rush it flew at 
Raiko’s head, and bit through the straw hat and 
into the iron helmet inside. But this final effort 
had exhausted its strength. Its motions ceased 
and it fell heavily to the floor. 

Anxiously the comrades helped their fallen 
leader to rise, and examined his head. But he 
was unhurt,—not a scratch was on him. The 
heroes congratulated each other and after des- 


134 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


patching the smaller demons, brought out all the 
treasure and divided it equally. Then they set 
the castle on fire and buried the bones of the vic¬ 
tims, setting up a stone to mark the spot. All 
the maidens and captives were assembled to¬ 
gether, and in great state and pomp they re¬ 
turned to Kioto. The virgins were restored to 
their parents, and many a desolate home was 
made joyful, and many a mourning garment 
taken off. Raiko was honored by the Mikado in 
being made a court noble and appointed Chief 
of the entire garrison of Kioto. All the people 
were grateful for his valor. His three lieutenants 
were also given posts of honor. The land was 
free from evil spirits ever afterward. 


XVIII 


THE BOY BROUGHT UP IN THE 
WOODS 

W HEN one sees two parties of boys in 
Japan, one in white and the other in 
red, playing the game of Genji and 
Heike (Haykee) he recalls the time, a thousand 
years ago, when cats were wild animals, and sol¬ 
diers called the Reds and Whites were at civil 
war. Even the men on horseback, who play polo, 
are dressed in red and white, only they crack 
halls, instead of the heads of their enemies. 

In the days long ago, the reds at first heat, hut 
the whites later on won the victory and the Heike 
were all cut off or hid in the mountains. 

One day Raiko the hero put on the disguise of 
a wood-cutter and went up into the forests on the 
high hills, for he had heard that a hermit woman 
and her son lived there and that the hoy was a 
wonder for strength, and lived with the wild 
animals, that were his playmates. 

This boy was named Iiintaro, which means 
Golden First Son. It was said that he had been 
taught by the Tengu, the long-nosed sprites that 
live in the woods. They know all the secrets and 
135 


136 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

can understand the wild animals, when they make 
signs or talk to each other. 

When Raiko came upon the scene and saw the 
Tengus, with noses a yard long, sitting as judges 
and looking on, while the lusty boy wrestled with 
a bear, he did not know whether to burst out 
laughing or to clap his hands in applause. 

There, in the middle of a clearing among the 
clumps of bamboo, on a high ledge of rock, sat a 
crowd of long-nosed Tengu, who were lookers on. 
They watched a fat boy wrestling with a young 
bear. 

The little fellow was not a bit afraid of the cub, 
but threw the bear down. Then every one of the 
animals made a noise or gave sign that showed 
how they admired the victor. The deer lowered 
and lifted its horns, the hare stood up on its hind 
legs and wiggled its fore-paws, and the monkey 
leaped up and down, chattering all the while. 

When they saw Raiko, they all became livelier 
than ever. The bear growled, the monkey broke 
out in a fresh chatter. Runny, the hare, made a 
sort of whistle, and the deer called, as if to its 
mate. The Tengus instead of scowling, as if 
Raiko was an intruder, clapped their hands and 
wiggled their noses up and down, as if they were 
pleased; and all were as jolly as creatures could 
be. 

The boy seemed to be about eight or ten years 


THE BOY IN THE WOODS 137 


old. All he had on was a sort of coat or apron^ 
that covered his body, leaving his arms and legs 
free. Near by him was a big axe, for this little 
giant—so he seemed in strength—could cut down 
a tree, like a wood chopper. 

The funniest sight of all was when the monkey 
and the hare had a tussle together, like their 
master and the bear. They jeered at each other 
and one called out, “come on, old Red Face,” 
while the other shouted “ Donkey Ears.” Then 
they set to. The hare beat the monkey in the 
first round. The monkey pulled the hare’s long 
ears, and the hare pushed in the stomach of the 
monkey. After several bouts, the deer, being 
the umpire, declared the monkey victor. 

Then the hare and the deer had a trial, the bear 
being the umpire. This time the hare won, for 
it pushed down the fellow with horns, even to his 
knees. 

After this, the boy-master called a halt. Then 
all sat down to dinner. The bear ate turnips and 
honey, the hare had plenty of grass, the deer en¬ 
joyed his pile of lily pads, the monkey was given 
a ball of rice like a dumpling and the boy ate out 
of a bowl his pickles, broiled fish and boiled rice. 
The Tengus went off to take their food in the 
cane brake in which they lived. 

It all seemed so strange that Raiko kept on 
watching to see what next would happen. After 


138 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

their dinner, they all marched down to the stream 
of water, which was wide. Raiko wondered how 
they should get across. 

That was easy enough, after the strong boy had 
pulled up a tree by the roots and cut off some of 
the branches with his axe. He threw it across and 
all walked over to the other side. Raiko followed 
them. He saw the monkey climb a tree. The 
hare ran into its burrow. The bear crept into a 
hollow tree and the deer strolled to its lair. Then 
the big boy stopped at a hut in the woods. He 
left his axe near the doorstep and went inside. 

Raiko heard the woman call the boy “ Kimbo,” 
that is. Kin darling, and listened while the lad 
told of the wrestling match. Coming near, he 
knocked at the door, bowed low, and asked that 
he might enter. 

He saw a fine-looking old lady, who must have 
been very beautiful in early life, and this he knew 
must be the Old Woman of the Hills, of whom 
he had heard, while the lad was the famous Kin- 
taro, or Golden Boy, and her son. Both of them 
welcomed Raiko and so he kicked off his clogs, 
left them outside, and, entering, fell on all fours, 
hands and knees in polite salute. 

They asked who he was and he told them. The 
mother was very glad to meet a knight from the 
capital, for she had long hoped that some day 
her son, when grown to be a man, should also be a 


THE BOY IN THE WOODS 139 

knight. Then he would dress in silk clothes, with 
his family crest on his breast, sleeves and back, 
and wear two swords as was then the fashion 
with the brave knights. Her family was of the 
Genji clan, whose mark or crest was three gen¬ 
tian flowers set above three long leaves. Each 
knight of the Genji clan wore this crest, in white 
silk, on his sleeves, breast and back. In time of 
war, he put on a suit of armor and the Genji 
crest was on his banner. Some of the knights had 
the family flag set in a socket fixed in their backs 
and rising above their heads. 

While the mother was enjoying a day-dream, 
seeing in vision her son on a war horse riding to 
battle, Kintaro dared their visitor to wrestle with 
him. 

The big fellow thought he would quickly throw 
the boy, but no! He found he had his match. 
After several bouts, they called it a drawn game, 
in which neither won. Then they sat down 
around the charcoal fire, which was set in a square 
hole in the middle of the floor, to have a chat. 

“ Honored lady,” said Raiko, “ your son is 
very strong. Would you like me to take him to 
the capital and make him one of the Mikado's 
guards? ” 

“ Your Augustness,” said the lady, “ I should 
be most happy. I am of the family of Genji, and 
nothing would I like more than to see my son 


140 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


serve under the Emperor’s banner, as a knight, 
wearing the Genji crest.” 

“ Thank you,” replied Raiko. “ I shall see 
that he is trained up to a hardy life so as to be a 
brave man, who will do honor to his ancestors.” 

The mother bowed her head to the floor, her 
forehead resting upon her outstretched hands, 
and thanked Raiko most warmly. 

“ Thank you, dear Mother,” said Kintaro. 
“ As soon as I am a man and wear two swords 
with the family crest on my silk coat, I shall 
come and build you a house and care for you as 
long as you live.” 

“ I know you will, my dear son. Now go with 
this gentleman and do honor to the Emperor, to 
your ancestors and to the Genji name.” 

In Japan, they do not kiss, but Kintaro bowed 
low on the matting, in reverence to his mother. 
Then followed the funniest farewell ever seen. 
Kintaro left his axe behind him, but the bear, the 
monkey and the hare came to see him off. The 
bear offered him its paw, the rabbit stood upon 
its hind legs and wiggled its fore-paws up and 
down. The deer raised and lowered its antlers 
several times, to show how sorry he was; while 
the monkey climbed a tree to see his master as 
long as he was in sight, as he went down the 
mountain path. 

When Kintaro was brought before Raiko’s 


THE BOY IN THE WOODS 141 


captains, they were all happy to have such a boy 
to train up. He was promised a place with the 
palace guards. 

So Kintaro grew up to be one of the bravest 
and strongest of the Mikado’s soldiers. When he 
was made a Captain, he went back into the moun¬ 
tains to find his mother. He brought her to the 
beautiful Kioto, which is called “ The City of the 
Ninefold Circle of Flowers.” There she lived 
happily all the days of her life. Kintaro married 
one of the most lovely maidens in the capital. 
His sons and daughters, besides the crest of the 
Genji had the sign Kin (meaning gold) embroi¬ 
dered on their coats, and all honored them as the 
descendants of a great hero. 


XIX 


THE AMBITIOUS CARP 

FEW years ago there was a boy in Japan, 
who was very diligent at school and had 



made fine progress in his studies. He 
was especially quick at learning Chinese charac¬ 
ters, of which every Japanese gentleman who 
wishes to be called educated must know at least 
two thousand. For, although the Chinese and 
Japanese are two very different languages, yet 
the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese use the same 
letters to w T rite with, just as English, Italian, 
French, and Spaniards all employ the same al¬ 
phabet. 

Now the boy’s father had promised that when 
he read through the Ancient History of Japan, 
he would give him a book of wonderful Chinese 
stories. The boy performed his task, and his fa¬ 
ther kept his promise. One day on his return 
from a journey to Kioto, he presented his son 
with sixteen volumes, all neatly silk-bound, well 
illustrated with wood-cuts, and printed clearly on 
thin, silky mulberry paper, from the best wooden 
blocks. Japanese books are much lighter and 
thinner than ours. 


142 


THE AMBITIOUS CARP 148 

The boy was so delighted with the wonderful 
stories of heroes and warriors, travelers and 
sailors, that he almost felt himself in China. He 
read far into the night, with the lamp inside of 
his mosquito curtain; finally he fell asleep, still 
undressed, but with his head full of all sorts of 
Chinese wonders. 

He dreamed he was far away in China, walk¬ 
ing along the banks of the great Yellow River. 
Everything was very strange. The people talked 
an entirely different language from his own; had 
on different clothes; and, instead of the nice 
shaven head and top-knot of the Japanese, every 
one wore a queer long pigtail of hair, that 
dangled at his heels. Even the boats were of a 
strange form. Perched on projecting rails of the 
fishing smacks, sat rows of cormorants, each with 
a ring around his neck. Every few minutes one 
of them would dive under the water, and after a 
while come struggling up with a fish in its mouth, 
so big that the fishermen had to help the bird into 
the boat. The game was then flung into a basket, 
and the cormorant was treated to a slice of raw 
fish, by way of encouragement and to keep the 
bird from the bad habit of eating the live fish 
whole. This the ravenous creature would some¬ 
times try to do, even though the ring was put 
around his neck to prevent it. 

It was springtime, and the buds were just 


144 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


bursting into flower. The river was full of fish, 
especially of carp, ascending to the great rapids 
or cascades. Here the current ran at a prodi¬ 
gious rate of swiftness, and the waters rippled 
and boiled and roared with frightful noise. Yet, 
strange to say, many of the fish were swimming 
up the stream as if their lives depended on it. 
They leaped and floundered about, only to be 
tossed back and left exhausted in the river, where 
they panted and gasped for breath in the eddies 
at the side. Some were so bruised against the 
rocks that, after a few spasms, they floated white 
and stiff, on the water, dead, and were swept 
down the stream. Still the shoal leaped and 
strained every fin, until their scales flashed in the 
sun like a host of armored warriors in battle. 
The boy enjoying it as if it were a real conflict 
of wave and fishes, clapped his hands with de¬ 
light. 

“ What is the name of this part of the river? ” 
he asked of an old white-bearded sage standing 
hy and looking on. 

“ We call it Dragons’ Gate,” said the sage. 

“ Will you please write the characters for it,” 
said the boy producing his ink-case and brush- 
pen, with a roll of soft writing paper made from 
the inner bark of the mulberry tree. 

The sage wrote the two Chinese characters, 
meaning “ The Gate of the Dragons,” and turned 


THE AMBITIOUS CARP 


145 


away to watch a carp that seemed almost up into 
smooth water. 

“ Oh! I see,” said the boy to himself. “ There 
must be some meaning in this fish-climbing.” 

He went forward a few rods, to where the 
banks trended upward into high bluffs, crowned 
by towering firs, through the top branches of 
which fleecy white clouds sailed slowly along, so 
near the sky did the tree-tops seem. Down un¬ 
der the cliffs the river ran perfectly smooth, al¬ 
most like a mirror, and broadened out to the op¬ 
posite shore. Far back, along the current, he 
could still see the rapids shelving down. It was 
crowded at the bottom with leaping fish, whose 
numbers gradually thinned out toward the 
centre; while near the top, close to the edge of 
level water, one solitary fish, of powerful fin and 
tail, breasted the steep stream. Now a leap for¬ 
ward, then a slide backward, sometimes further 
to the rear than the next leap made up for, then 
steady progress, then a slip, but every moment 
nearer, until, clearing foam and ripple and spray 
at one bound, it passed the edge and swam hap¬ 
pily in smooth water. 

It was inside the Dragons’ Gate! 

Now came a wonderful thing. One of the 
fleecy white clouds suddenly left the host in the 
deep blue above, dipped down from the sky, and 
swirling round and round as if it were a water 


146 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


spout, scratched and frayed the edge of the water 
like a fisher’s troll. The carp saw and darted 
toward it. In a moment the fish was transformed 
into a white Dragon, and, rising into the cloud, 
floated off toward heaven. A streak or two of 
red fire, a gleam of terrible eyes, and the flash of 
white scales were all that the bewildered lad saw. 
Then he awoke. 

“ How strange that a poor little carp, a com¬ 
mon fish that lives in the river, should become a 
great white Dragon, and soar up into the sky, to 
live there! ” he mused the next day, as he told 
his mother of his dream. 

“ Yes,” said she; “ and what a lesson for you. 
See how the carp persevered, leaping over all 
difficulties, never giving up till it became a 
Dragon. I hope my son will mount over all ob¬ 
stacles, and rise to honor and to high office under 
the Government.” 

“Oh! oh! now I see!” he cried. “That is 
what my teacher means when he says the students 
in Tokio have a proverb: 4 I’m a fish to-day, but 
I hope to be a Dragon to-morrow,’ and that’s 
what Father means when he says: 4 That fish’s son 
has become a white Dragon, while I am yet only 
a carp.’ ” 

44 You are right,” replied his mother smiling; 
44 and I hope you will be the big carp that be¬ 
comes a Dragon.” 


THE AMBITIOUS CARP 


147 


So on the third day of the third month, at the 
Feast of Flags, the boy hoisted a great fish, made 
of paper, fifteen feet long and hollow like a bag. 
It was yellow, with black scales and streaks of 
gold, and red gills and mouth, in which two 
strong strings were fastened. It was lifted by a 
rope to the top of a high bamboo pole on the roof 
of the house. There the breeze caught it, and 
swelled it out round and full of air. The wind 
made the fins work, the tail flap, and the head 
tug, until it looked just like a carp trying to 
swim the rapids of the Yellow River—the symbol 
of ambition and perseverance to eveiy one who 
beheld it. 


LORD LONG-LEGS’ PROCESSION 


L OVELY and bright in the month of May, 
at the time of rice-planting, was the day 
on which the Baron Long-legs was in¬ 
formed by his chamberlain, Hop-hop, that on the 
morrow his lordship’s retinue would be in readi¬ 
ness to accompany their worshipful Master on 
his journey to Yedo. This Lord Long-legs was 
a noble who ruled over four acres of rice-field and 
whose revenue was ten thousand rice-stalks. His 
personal retinue, who were all Grasshoppers, like 
himself, numbered over six thousand, while his 
court consisted of many nobles, such as Mantis, 
Beetle, and Pinching-bug. The maids of honor 
who waited on his Queen Katydid, were Lady- 
bugs, Butterflies, and Goldsmiths, and his mes¬ 
sengers were Fire-flies and Dragon-flies. Once 
in a while the Beetle was sent on an errand; but 
the stupid fellow had a habit of running plump 
into things, and bumping his head so badly that 
he always forgot what he was sent for. : Besides 
these, Lord Long-legs had a great many servants 
in the kitchen—such as Grubs, Spiders, Toads, 


LORD LONG-LEGS 


149 


and Worms. The entire population of his do¬ 
minion, including the common folks, numbered 
several millions, and ranked all the way from 
Horse-flies down to Ants, Mosquitoes, and Ticks. 

Many of his subjects were very industrious 
and produced fine fabrics, which, however, were 
seized and made use of by great monsters, called 
Men. The silver-gray worms kept spinning- 
wheels in their heads. They had a fashion of 
eating mulberry leaves, and changing them into 
fine threads, called silk. The Wasps made paper, 
and the Bees distilled honey. There was another 
insect which spread white wax on the trees. 
These were all retainers or friendly vassals of the 
Baron in the Castle. 

Now it was Lord Long-legs’ duty once a year 
to go up to Yedo to pay his respects to the great 
Tycoon and to spend several weeks in the East¬ 
ern metropolis. I shall not take the time nor tax 
the patience of my readers in telling about all the 
bustle and preparation that went on in the man¬ 
sion of the Baron for a whole week previous to 
starting. Suffice it to say that clothes were 
washed and starched, and dried on a board, to 
keep them from shrinking; trunks and baskets 
were packed; banners and umbrellas put in order; 
the lacquered boxes and the brass ornaments 
dusted off; and swords and spears polished. 
Every little item was personally examined by the 


150 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

chief inspector. This functionary was a black- 
and-white-legged Mosquito, who, on account of 
his long nose, could pry into a thing further than 
any other of his lordship’s officers; and, if any¬ 
thing went wrong, he could make more noise over 
it than any one else. As for the retainers, down 
to the very last lackey and coolie, each one tried 
to outshine the other in cleanliness and smart 
attire. 

The Bumble-bee brushed off the pollen from 
his legs; and the humbler Honey-bee, after al¬ 
lowing his children to suck his paws, to get the 
honey sticking to them, spruced up and listened 
attentively to the orders read to him by the train- 
leader, Sir Locust, who prided himself on being 
seventeen years old, and looked on all the others 
as children. He read from a piece of wasp-nest 
paper: “ No leaving the line to suck flowers, ex¬ 
cept at halting-time.” The Blue-tailed Fly 
washed his hands and face over and over again. 
The Lady-bugs wept many tears, because they 
could not go with the company; the Crickets 
chirped rather gloomily, because none with short 
limbs could go on the journey; while old Daddy 
Long-legs almost turned a somersault for joy 
when told he might carry a bundle in the train. 
All being in readiness, the procession was to start 
at six o’clock in the morning. The exact minute 
was to be announced by the timekeeper of the 


151 


LORD LONG-LEGS 

mansion, Mr. Flea, whose house was on the hack 
of Neko, a great black cat, who lived in the 
porter’s lodge of the castle, near by. Mr. Flea 
was to notice the opening or slits in the monster’s 
moony-green eyes, which, when closed to a cer¬ 
tain width, would indicate six o’clock. Then with 
a few jumps he was to announce it to a Mosquito 
friend of his, who would fly with the news to the 
gatekeeper of the mansion, one Whirligig by 
name. 

So, punctually to the hour, the great double 
gate swung wide open, and the procession passed 
out and marched on over the hill. All the serv¬ 
ants of Lord Long-legs were out, to see the grand 
sight. They were down on their knees, saying: 
“ Please go slowly.” When their master’s pal¬ 
anquin passed, they bowed their heads to the dust, 
as was proper. The ladies, who were left behind, 
cried bitterly, and soaked their paper handker¬ 
chiefs with tears, especially one fair brown crea¬ 
ture, who was next of kin to Lord Long-legs, be¬ 
ing an Ant on her mother’s side. 

The procession was closed by six old Spider 
daddies marching two by two, who were a little 
stupid and groggy, having had a late supper, and 
a jolly feast the night before. When the great 
gate slammed shut, one of them caught the end 
of his foot in it, and was lamed for the rest of 
the journey. He was ordered to walk alongside 


152 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

of old Daddy Long-legs, who hobbled along, with 
a bundle on his back. These two were the only 
funny fellows in the procession, and made much 
talk among bystanders on the road. 

This is the order and the way they looked. 
First there went out, far ahead, a plump, tall 
Mantis, with a great long baton of grass, which 
he swung to and fro before him, from right to 
left, like a drum-major, crying out: “ Down on 
your knees! Get down with you! ” Whereat all 
the Ants, Bugs and Lizards at once bent their 
forelegs, and the Toads, which were already 
squatting, bobbed their noses in the dust. Even 
the Mud-turtles poked their heads out of the 
water to see what was going on. It was forbid¬ 
den to any insect to remain on a tall stalk of 
grass, lest he might look down on His Highness. 
So all the Worms and Grubs that lived up in 
trees or high bushes had to come down to the 
ground. Even the Inch-worm had to wind him¬ 
self up and stop measuring his length, while the 
line was passing. And in case of Grubs in the 
nest or Moths in the cocoon, too young to crawl 
out, the law compelled their parents to cover 
them over with a leaf. It would be an insult to 
Lord Long-legs to have any one look down on 
him. 

Next followed two lantern-bearers, holding 
Glow-worms for lanterns in their fore-paws. 


LORD LONG-LEGS 


153 


Tliese were wrapped in cases made of leaves, 
which they took off at night. Behind were six 
Fire-flies, well supplied with self-acting lamps, 
which they kept hidden somewhere under their 
wings. Next marched four abreast the band of 
little Weevils, carrying the umbrellas of state, 
which were morning-glories—some open, some 
shut. Behind them strutted four green Grass¬ 
hoppers, spear-hearers, carrying pink blossoms. 

Just before the palanquin were two tall dan¬ 
dies, each of them a Mantis. High lords them¬ 
selves and of gigantic stature with arms akimbo 
and feelers far up in the air, they bore aloft the 
insignia of their Lord Long-legs. These fellows 
strutted along on their hind legs, their backs as 
stiff as hemp stalks, their noses pointing to the 
stars, and their legs striding like stilts. The 
priest in his robes, a Praying Beetle, who was 
chaplain, walked on solemnly. 

Meanwhile a great crowd of spectators lined 
the path; but all were on their knees. Frogs and 
Toads blinked out of the sides of their heads. 
The pretty red Lizards glided out, to see the 
splendid show; Worms stopped crawling; and all 
kinds of Bugs ceased climbing, and came down 
from the grass and flower-stalks, to bow humbly 
before the train of Lord Long-legs. Bug moth¬ 
ers hastened, with their bug babies on their backs, 
down to the road, and, squatting down, taught 


154 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

their little ones to put their fore-paws politely 
together and bow down on their front knees. No 
one dared to speak out loud; but the Mole-cricket, 
nudging his fellow under the wing, said: “ Just 
look at that green Mantis! He looks as though 
he would ‘ rush out with a battle-axe on his shoul¬ 
der to meet a chariot.’ See how he ogles his fel¬ 
low!” 

“Yes; and just behold that bandy-legged 
Hopper, will you? I could walk better than that 
myself,” said the other. 

“ ’Sh! ” said the Mole-cricket. “ Here comes 
the lordly palanquin.” 

Everybody now cast a squint up under their 
eyebrows, and watched the palanquin go by. It 
was made of delicately-woven striped grass, 
bound with bamboo threads, lacquered, and 
finished with curtains of gauze, made of dragon¬ 
fly wings, through which Lord Long-legs could 
peep. It was borne on the shoulders of four stal¬ 
wart Hoppers, who, carrying rest-poles of grass, 
trudged along, with much sweat and fuss and 
wiping of their foreheads, stopping occasionally 
to change shoulders. At their side walked a 
body-guard of eight Hoppers, armed with pistils, 
and having side-arms of sword-grass. They were 
also provided with poison-shoots, in case of trou¬ 
ble. Other bearers followed, keeping step and 
carrying the regalia, consisting of chrysanthe- 



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smmmsmm 


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Lord Long-Leg’s Procession 























































































LORD LONG-LEGS 


155 


mum stalks and blossoms. Then followed, in 
double rank, a long string of Wasps, who were 
for show and nothing more. Between them, in¬ 
side, carefully saddled, bridled, and in full hous¬ 
ings, was a Horse-fly, led by a Snail, to keep the 
restive animal from going at a too rapid pace. 

Three big, gawky helmet-headed Beetles next 
followed, bearing rice-sprouts, with full heads of 
rice. 

“ Oh! oh! look there! ” cried a little Grub at 
the side of the road. “ See the little Grasshopper 
riding on his father’s back! ” 

“’Sh!” said Madam Butterfly, putting one 
paw on her baby’s neck, for fear of being arrested 
for making a noise. 

It was so. The little Hopper, tired of long 
walking, had climbed on his father’s back for a 
ride, holding on by the feelers and seeing every¬ 
thing. 

Finally, toward the end of the procession, was 
a great crowd of common Hoppers, Beetles, and 
Bugs of all sorts, carrying the presents to be 
given in Yedo, and the clothing, food, and uten¬ 
sils for the use of Lord Long-legs on the jour¬ 
ney; for the hotels were sometimes very poor on 
the highroad and the Baron liked his comforts. 
Besides, it was necessary for Lord Long-legs to 
travel with proper dignity. His messengers al¬ 
ways went before and engaged lodging-places, as 


156 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


the Fleas, Spiders and Mosquitoes from other lo¬ 
calities, that traveled up and down the great high¬ 
road, sometimes occupied the places first. The 
procession wound up with the rear-guard of 
Daddy Long-legs, and the limping Spider. 
These prevented any insult or disrespect from the 
rabble. After the line had passed, insects could 
cross the road, traffic and travel were resumed, 
and the road was cleared, while the procession 
faded from view in the distance. 

“ Mother, what did the worshipful Lord Long- 
legs look like? I couldn’t see him,” said little 
Grub. 

“ I don’t know,” replied Madam Butterfly; “ I 
never saw him either, and I don’t think anybody 
else did.” 

And it was true. All they could see was the 
palanquin. But it was a fine procession just the 
same. 


XXI 


HOW TODA SLEW THE LONG 


SERPENT 



THOUSAND years ago, near Kioto, 


there dwelt a mighty monster called a 


Mu-ka-de. It was half serpent, half 
centipede. So great in length was this creature 
that it could coil itself seven times around the 
mountain. It ravaged the rice-fields, ate up all 
the grain in the stacks on the meadows, and every 
bean in the gardens, so that all the boys and girls 
came near starving. Yet no one could help it, 
for all the men in the region were afraid to attack 
the monster, for its poisonous breath could choke 
human beings even when it was a mile distant. 

One lady, the widow of a court noble, who had 
many children to feed, resolved to go in search 
of a brave hunter, or warrior, and ask him to kill 
the centipede-serpent. She heard that the knight 
Toda, one of the bravest of the Mikado’s guards, 
was coming into the province. So she put on the 
court dress, which she had worn when living in 
Kioto, to make herself look very lovely. No 
fewer than twelve robes of crimson silk and an 


157 


158 JAPANESE FAIRY] TALES 

upper dress of brocade made her costume. 
Above her girdle was snow-white, while blood- 
red was the long divided skirt, which trailed sev¬ 
eral feet behind her. When at court, she walked 
over the soft matting of the palace floor, to pre¬ 
sent herself, with the other noble ladies, before 
the Mikado, she was really standing on her feet, 
inside these long trailing robes. The idea was to 
seem as if kneeling to do honor to the Emperor, 
while really remaining upright. 

So, all gorgeously arrayed with her luxuriant 
black hair done up in fan shape, in front of her 
head, and hanging in a long braid down her back, 
she awaited the coming of Toda, the bravest 
knight in all Japan. 

When he appeared, she saluted him and then 
told her sad story. She begged him, as a loyal 
warrior, to protect her from the terrible enemy 
that ate up her children’s food, and might even 
destroy them all. 

Toda the brave at once promised that, if she 
would show him where the monster’s lair was, he 
would fight him; but that having then only one 
arrow in his quiver, he must go and get more and 
would come back within an hour. 

By the time of his return, the lady had put 
off her court dress and had donned a suit of 
coarse hempen stuff. Her feet were shod in san¬ 
dals of plaited rice straw and she was ready to 


TODA SLEW THE SERPENT 159 

walk for leagues. Yet even in her plain dress, 
Toda thought her as beautiful, in face and form, 
as she was brave in her venture. 

It was a long walk to the mountain and it was 
night before they arrived near the monster’s lair. 
While they were opening their little pocket bas¬ 
kets to eat their lunch, of rice, fish, pickles and 
tea, Toda looked up and saw what appeared to 
be two moons rising over the mountainside. The 
lady, not a bit afraid, explained that these were 
the monster’s eyes. 

Fitting a shaft to his bowstring, Toda drew 
the feathered end clear up to his ear and let fly 
the arrow. A dull thud was heard and one moon 
went out. Quickly he sped another shaft at the 
second moon, and no sooner had the bowstring 
twanged, than this faded out also and all was 
dark. 

Toda now knew that these moons he had seen 
were, as the lady had said, nothing less than the 
two eyes of the terrible monster, which though it 
might be wounded was not yet dead, but yet able 
to do great mischief. 

Now Toda knew even in those days, what wise 
men of science know and can explain to-day, 
that salvia from the human mouth can kill young 
centipedes, and if the heads of big ones are kept 
moist with spittle, they will die. So he wetted 
well the point of his third arrow in his mouth and 


160 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

then shot it at the huge mass which, in the dark¬ 
ness, he supposed was the body of the Mu-ka-de. 

At once there broke out the most awful bellow- 
ings, which echoed among the mountains and 
came back to their ears with a roar that nearly 
deafened them. When the real moon rose up 
and flooded the earth with its silvery light, they 
saw that the brute with many legs had unwound 
itself from the mountain and lay on its back, dead, 
like one enormous black log, with its thousand 
spikes up in the air which were its legs. The next 
morning flocks of birds and beasts of prey were 
feeding on the monster. Toda and the lady were 
glad to know that the Mu-ka-de was only carrion 
for the crows. 

Now came the moment when the grateful lady 
told Toda the secret of who she was. For, though 
she could dress like either a peasant or a Court 
lady, she was none other than Renten, the daugh¬ 
ter of the Dragon King of the World under Lake 
Biwa, Japan’s largest body of fresh water. 

Inviting him to a great feast in her father’s 
palace, she wafted him down, down, to the bottom 
of the deep lake. There in a marble palace, from 
dishes made of diamonds, and from trays of red 
coral, and cups of crystal he ate and drank his fill. 
He was waited on by beings that seemed to be 
lovely girls, but he could not tell whether they 
were fishes or maidens, for it all appeared as if 


TODA SLEW THE SERPENT 161 


in a dream of delight. They were of bright colors 
and their clothes were made of shining scales. So 
strange and wonderful was it all, that when the 
dancing and music began, Toda was hardly sur¬ 
prised; for, in dreams, we never wonder at any¬ 
thing. Yet afterward, when he told his story to 
friends, he said he could not be sure whether these 
singers, dancers, and players on the drums, flutes, 
and strings were real girls, or only fishes that 
looked like girls. 

Hours and days sped by and when Toda said 
he must return home, the king clapped his hands, 
and then, out of hidden doors, trooped forth a 
band of curious creatures. These carried pres¬ 
ents of many kinds, such as rolls of silk, bags of 
rice, a big bell and other things of wealth and 
beauty. They all had on helmets, each with a 
dragon’s head on top, and their robes were very 
much like that of fishes, for every color one could 
think of was in their clothes. These went with 
Toda all the way to Kioto. Some carried ban¬ 
ners, with praises inscribed to Toda as a deliverer. 

Meanwhile Toda’s household and servants 
wondered first, why their master did not come 
back that night, and then had stayed away sev¬ 
eral days. When one of the watchers in the city 
climbed up on the fire-ladder, or lookout, which 
reached above the housetops, and saw the pro¬ 
cession coming, he gave the signal and they all 


162 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

marched out to welcome their lord and carry 
home the presents. 

For the moment Toda’s servants arrived, the 
Lake King’s people and servants of Benten left 
the presents on the ground and in a snap of a 
finger disappeared. Some say they plunged into 
the lake and swam like fishes, or dived like tur¬ 
tles, down into the deep. To carry the bags of 
rice, casks of food and rolls of silk was easy 
enough, but it took fourteen men to carry home 
the bell. 

Once inside his mansion, Toda, at his leisure, 
looked over his gifts from the Dragon King. 
Among these were robes of silk, bags of rice, 
jars of sweet liquid, a sword and purse of money, 
a pot to cook rice in and a bell, big enough to 
hang in a temple yard. 

Every one of these presents was magical. The 
wonderful thing about the sword was that its 
edge never dulled, no matter how much it was 
used. 

Every year Toda had a new coat made of the 
silk, but the roll kept its length the same as be¬ 
fore. 

The jars of sweet liquid never failed, but al¬ 
ways remained full to the brim; it never soured, 
but was always delicious. 

In the cooking-pot, everything put in, whether 
rice, or turnips, or beans, or chicken, or fish, or 


TODA SLEW THE SERPENT 163 

venison, came out cooked for dinner and was al¬ 
ways savory. 

As for the purse of money, it never got empty. 

Yet with all these magic gifts, Toda, who hated 
waste, never squandered anything. 

As he did not know what to do with the big 
bell, when some priests of the temple of Benten 
asked for it as a gift, Toda gladly made a present 
of it to them. It was hung up and for centuries 
boomed out the time of day and night. Every 
two hours its voice was heard, for in Old Japan, 
each hour was one hundred and twenty minutes 
long. Toda helped to make Benkei’s fame, as we 
have seen in our story Number Ten. 

But most of all, Toda valued the bag of rice, 
for it made his fortune and gave him a famous 
title. No matter how much was taken each day, 
the supply of white grain in the bag was just 
the same the next morning. It was indeed a 
wonder. 

But more! Toda was the second son of his 
parents and when a boy, before his father and 
elder brother died, and left him to become the 
head of the house and family, he was nicknamed 
“ Lord Cold Rice.” This was because he was 
helped last, after all the others, when the boiled 
rice was no longer hot. 

But now that he could, every day, give a feast 
of hot rice to as many guests as he wished to in- 


164 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

vite, and there was always enough for all, and 
more in the bag, everybody called him My Lord 
Bag of Rice. 

As for Benten, the sailors all worship her and 
her image is in all the idol shops. Besides her 
many arms, holding gifts for her favorites, she 
sits on her throne with one small white dragon 
coiled on her head and another green dragon in 
the blue waves beneath, ready to do her bidding. 
So the street or avenue (do'-ri) in Yokohama, 
which is richest in all pretty things, is very 
properly called Benten Dori. 


XXII 


THE POWER OF LOVE 

O UIET and shady was the spot in the 
midst of one of the loveliest valley land¬ 
scapes in the empire, near the hanks of 
the Hidaka River, where stood a famous tea¬ 
house. It was surrounded on all sides by 
glorious mountains, ever robed with deep forest, 
silver-threaded with flashing waterfalls, to which 
the lovers of nature paid many a visit. Here 
poets were inspired to write stanzas in praise of 
the white foam and the twinkling streamlets. 
Here the priests loved to muse and meditate. 
Anon merry picnic parties spread their mats, 
looped their canvas screens, and feasted out of 
nests of lacquered boxes, drinking the amber sake 
from cups no larger nor thicker than an egg-shell, 
while the sound of guitar and drum kept time to 
dance and song. 

The garden of the tea-house was as lovely a 
piece of art as the florist’s cunning could pro¬ 
duce. Those who emerged from the deep woods 
of the lofty hill called the Dragon’s Claw, could 
see in the garden a living copy of the landscape 
165 


166 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


before them. There were mimic mountains, ten 
feet high, and miniature hills veined by a tiny 
path, with dwarfed pine groves, clumps of bam¬ 
boo, a patch of grass for meadow, and a valley 
just like the great gully of the mountains, times 
smaller, yet only twenty feet long. So perfect 
was the imitation that even the miniature irri¬ 
gated rice-fields, each no larger than a checker¬ 
board, were in full sprout. To make this little 
gem of nature in art complete, there fell from 
over a rock at one end a lovely little waterfall 
two feet high, which after an angry splash over 
the stones, rolled on over an absurdly small beach, 
all white-sanded and pebbled, threading its silver 
way beyond, until lost in fringes of lilies and 
aquatic plants. In one broad space imitating a 
lake, was a lotus pond, lined with iris, in which the 
fins of gold fish and silver carp flashed in the sun¬ 
beams. Here and there the nose of a tortoise 
protruded, while on a rugged rock sat an old 
grandfather surveying the scene with one or two 
of his grandchildren asleep on his shell and sun¬ 
ning themselves. 

The fame of the tea-house, its excellent fare, 
and special delicacy of its mountain trout, sugar- 
jelly and well-flavored rice-cakes, drew hundreds 
of visitors, especially lovers of grand scenery. 

Just across the river, which was visible from 
the veranda of the tea-house, rose the lofty firs 


THE POWER OF LOVE 


167 


that surrounded a Buddhist temple. Hard by 
was the red pagoda, which peeped between the 
trees. A long row of paper-windowed and tile- 
roofed dwellings to the right made up the mon¬ 
astery, in which a snowy eyebrowed but rosy- 
faced old abbot and some twenty priests dwelt, 
all shaven-faced and shaven-pated, in crape robes 
and straw sandals, their only food being water 
and vegetables. 

Not the least noticeable of the array of stone 
lanterns, and bronze images with aureoles round 
their heads, and incense-burners and holy water 
tanks, and dragon spouts, was the belfry, which 
stood on a stone platform. Under its roof hung 
the massive bronze bell ten feet high. When 
struck with a suspended log, like a trip-hammer, 
it boomed solemnly over the valley and flooded 
three leagues of space with the melody which 
died away as sweetly as an infant falling in slum¬ 
ber. This mighty bell was six inches thick and 
weighed several tons. 

Of the tea-house across the river, its sweetest 
charm, and fairest flower was Kiyo, the host’s 
daughter. She was a lovely maiden of but 
eighteen, as graceful as the bamboo reed sway¬ 
ing in the breeze on a moonlit summer’s eve, and 
as pretty as the blossoms of the cherry tree. Far 
and wide floated the fame of Kiyo like the fra¬ 
grance of white lilies, when the wind, sweeping 


168 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

down the mountain heights, comes perfume-laden 
to the traveler. 

As she busied herself about the garden, or as 
her white socks slipped over the mat-laid floor, 
she was the picture of grace itself. When at 
twilight, with her own hands she lighted the gay 
lanterns that hung in festoons along the eaves of 
the tea-house above the veranda, her bright eyes 
sparkling, her red silk under dress half visible 
through her semi-transparent crape robe, she 
made many a young man’s heart glow with a 
strange new feeling, or burn with pangs of jeal¬ 
ousy. And many came to the tea-house who 
were not thinking of the tea or scenery. 

It was the rule of the monastery that none of 
the priests should drink sake, eat fish or meat, 
or even stop at the tea-houses. One young priest 
had rigidly kept these rules. Fish had never 
passed his mouth; and as for sake, he did not 
know even its taste. He was very studious and 
diligent. Every day he learned ten new Chinese 
characters. He had already read several of the 
sacred books, had made a good beginning in 
Sanskrit, knew the name of every one of the three 
thousand three hundred and thirty-three images 
in Kioto’s most famous temples, had twice visited 
the sacred shrines of the Capital, and had uttered 
the prayer, “ Glory be to the sacred lotus of the 
law,” counting it on his rosary, five hundred thou- 


THE POWER OF LOVE 


169 


sand times. For sanctity and learning he had no 
peer among the young neophytes of the mon¬ 
astery. 

Alas for his piety! One day, after returning 
from a visit to a famous shrine, as he was pass¬ 
ing the tea-house, he caught sight of Kiyo, and 
from that moment his pain of heart began. He 
returned to his bed of mats, but not to sleep. 
For days he tried to stifle his passion, but his 
heart only smouldered away like an incense-stick. 

Before many days he made a pretext for pass¬ 
ing that way again and again. Hopelessly in 
love, he stopped and entered the tea-house. 

His call for refreshments was answered by 
Kiyo herself! 

As fire kindles fire, so priest and maiden were 
now consumed in one flame of love. To shorten 
a long story, he visited the inn oftener and 
oftener, even stealing out at night to cross the 
river and spend the silent hours with his love. 

So passed several months, until a change began 
to come over the young priest. His conscience 
began to trouble him for breaking his vows. In 
the terrible conflict between principle and pas¬ 
sion, his soul was tossed to and fro like the feath¬ 
ered seed-ball of a shuttlecock. But conscience 
was the stronger, and won the victory. He re¬ 
solved to drown his love and break off his con¬ 
nection with the girl. To do it suddenly would 


170 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

bring grief to her and a scandal both on her 
family and the monastery. He must do it grad¬ 
ually to succeed at all. 

Ah! how quickly does the sensitive love-plant 
know the finger-tip touch of cooling passion! 
Kiyo marked the ebbing tide of her lover’s re¬ 
gard, and in her first grief and anger a terrible 
resolve of evil took possession of her soul. She 
determined to win over her lover by her impor¬ 
tunities, and failing in this, to destroy him by 
sorcery. 

One night she sat up until two o’clock in the 
morning, and then, arrayed only in a white robe, 
she went out to a secluded part of the mountain 
where in a lonely shrine stood a hideous scowling 
image of Fudo, who holds the sword of vengeance 
and sits clothed in fire. There she called upon 
the god to change her lover’s heart or else show 
her how to destroy him. 

Thence, with her head shaking and eyes glitter¬ 
ing with anger like the orbs of a serpent, she 
hastened to the shrine of Kampira, whose serv¬ 
ants are the long-nosed sprites, who have the 
power of magic and of teaching sorcery. Stand¬ 
ing in front of the portal she saw it hung with 
votive tablets, locks of hair, teeth, various tokens 
of vows, pledges, and marks of sacrifice, which 
the devotees of the god had hung up. In the 
cold night air she asked for the power of sorcery, 


THE POWER OF LOVE 


171 


that she might be able at will to transform her¬ 
self into the terrible dragon-serpent whose en¬ 
gine coils are able to crack bones, crush rocks, 
melt iron, or root up trees, and which are long 
enough to wind round a mountain. 

It would be too long to tell how this once pure 
and happy maiden, now turned to an avenging 
demon, went out nightly on the lonely mountains 
to practice the arts of sorcery. The mountain- 
sprites were her teachers, and she learned so dili¬ 
gently that the chief goblin at last told her she 
would be able, without fail, to transform herself 
when she wished. 

The dreadful moment was soon to come. The 
visits of the once lover-priest gradually became 
fewer and fewer. They were no longer tender 
hours of love, but were on his part only formal 
interviews, while Kiyo became more importunate 
than ever. Tears and pleadings were alike use¬ 
less, and finally one night as he was taking leave, 
the priest told the maid that he had paid his last 
visit. 

Immediately the baleful fire of a serpent came 
into Kiyo’s eyes, and the priest turned and fled 
across the river. He had seen the terrible gleam 
in the maiden’s eyes, and now, terribly fright¬ 
ened, hid himself under the great temple bell. 

Forthwith Kiyo seeing the awful moment had 
come, pronounced the spell of incantation taught 


172 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

her by the mountain spirit, and raised her 
T-shaped wand. In a moment her fair head and 
lovely face, body, limbs, and feet lengthened out, 
disappeared, or became demon-like, and a fire- 
darting, hissing-tongued serpent, with eyes like 
moons trailed over the ground toward the temple, 
swam the river, and scenting out the track of 
the fugitive, entered the belfry, cracking the sup¬ 
porting columns made of whole tree-trunks into 
a mass of ruins, while the bell fell to the earth 
with the cowering victim inside. 

Then she began winding the terrible coils 
round and round the metal, as with her wand of 
sorcery in her hands, she mounted the bell. The 
glistening scales, hard as iron, struck off sparks 
as the pressure increased. Tighter and tighter 
they were drawn, till the heat of the friction con¬ 
sumed the timbers and made the metal glow hot 
like fire. 

Vain was the prayer of priest, or spell of 
rosary, as all the other bonzes piteously besought 
great Buddha to destroy the demon. Hotter and 
hotter grew the mass, until the ponderous metal 
ran down into a hissing pool of molten bronze; 
and soon, man within and serpent without, tim¬ 
ber and tiles and ropes were nought but a few 
handfuls of white ashes. 


XXIII 


THE TIDE-JEWELS 

HE Empress of Japan, wife of the four¬ 
teenth Mikado, was named Jingu, or 



Godlike Exploit. She was a wise and 
discreet lady and assisted her husband to govern 
his dominions. When the Mikado marched his 
army against the rebels, the Empress went with 
him and lived in the camp. One night, as she 
lay asleep in her tent, she dreamed that a 
heavenly being appeared to her and told her of 
a wonderful land in the West, full of gold, silver, 
jewels, silks, and precious stones. The heavenly 
messenger told her if she would invade this coun¬ 
try she would succeed, and all its spoil would be 
hers, for herself and Japan. 

“ Conquer Korea! ” said the radiant being, as 
she floated away on a purple cloud. 

In the morning the Empress told her husband 
of her dream, and advised him to set out to 
invade the rich land. But he paid no attention 
to her. When she insisted, in order to satisfy 
her, he climbed up a high mountain, and looking 
far away toward the setting sun, saw no land 


173 


174 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

thither, not even mountain peaks. So, believing 
that there was no country in that direction he 
descended, and refused to set out on the expedi¬ 
tion. Shortly after, in a battle with the rebels 
the Mikado was shot dead with an arrow. 

The generals and captains of the host then 
declared their loyalty to the Empress as the sole 
ruler of Japan. She, now having the power, 
resolved to carry out her darling plan of invad¬ 
ing Korea. She called upon all the spirits of the 
mountains, rivers, and plains to give her their 
advice and help. Then the fairy of the moun¬ 
tains obeyed and gave her timber and iron for 
her ships; the fairy of the fields presented rice 
and grain for provisions; the fairy of the grasses 
gave her hemp for cordage. The wind-god 
promised to open his bag and let out his breezes 
to fill her sails toward Korea. All appeared 
except Isora, the spirit of the seashore. Again 
she called for him and sat up waiting all night 
with torches burning, invoking him to appear. 

Now, Isora was a lazy fellow, always slovenly 
and ill-dressed, and when at last he did come, 
instead of appearing in state in splendid robes, 
he rose right out of the sea-bottom, covered with 
mud and slime, with shells sticking all over him 
and seaweed clinging to his hair. He gruffly 
asked what the Empress wanted. 

“ Go down to the Under-World and beg his 


THE TIDE-JEWELS 175 

majesty, the Dragon King, to give me the two 
Tide-Jewels,” she replied. 

Now, among the treasures in the palace of the 
Dragon King of the World under the Sea were 
two Jewels having wondrous power over the ebb¬ 
ing and the flowing tides. They were about as 
large as apples, but shaped like apricots, with 
three rings cut near the top. They seemed to be 
of crystal, and glistened and shot out dazzling 
rays like fire. Indeed, they appeared to seethe 
and glow like the eye of a dragon, or the white-hot 
steel of the sword-forger. One was called the 
Jewel of the Flood-Tide, and the other the Jewel 
of the Ebb-Tide. Whoever owned them had the 
power to make the tides instantly rise or fall 
at his word, to make the dry land appear, or the 
sea overwhelm it, in the fillip of a finger. 

Isora dived with a dreadful splash, down, down 
to the Under-World, and straightway presented 
himself before the Dragon King. In the name 
of the Empress, he begged for the two tide- 
jewels. The Dragon King granted his request. 
Producing the flaming globes from his casket, he 
placed them on a huge shell and handed them to 
Isora, who brought the Jewels to Jingu. She at 
once placed them in her girdle. 

The Empress now prepared her fleet for the 
Korean invasion. Three thousand barges were 
built and launched. This mighty fleet sailed for 


176 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Korea in the tenth month. The hills of Japan 
soon began to sink below the horizon, but no 
sooner were they out of sight of land than a great 
storm arose. The ships tossed about, and began 
to butt each other like bulls, and it seemed as 
though the fleet would be driven back; when lo! 
the Dragon King sent shoals of huge sea-mon¬ 
sters and immense fishes that bore up the ships 
and pushed their sterns forward with their great 
snouts. The dragon-fishes, taking the ship’s 
cables in their mouths towed them forward, until 
the storm ceased and the ocean was calm. Then 
they plunged downward into the sea and disap¬ 
peared. 

The mountains of Korea now rose into view. 
But the army was not to be suffered to land un¬ 
molested. Korean spies had informed their king, 
so that he had made ready. Along the shore 
were gathered the entire Korean army. Their 
triangular fringed banners, inscribed with 
dragons, flapped in the breeze. As soon as their 
sentinels caught sight of the Japanese fleet, the 
signal was given, and the Korean line of war gal¬ 
leys moved gaily out to attack the Japanese. 

The Empress posted her archers in the bows of 
her ships and waited for the enemy to approach. 
When they were within a few hundred sword- 
lengths, she took from her girdle the Jewel of 
the Ebbing Tide and cast the flashing gem into 



The dragon-fishes, taking the ship’s cables in their mouths 
towed them forward. 











THE TIDE-JEWELS 


177 


the sea. It blazed in the air for a moment, but 
no sooner did it touch the water, than instantly 
the ocean receded from under the Korean vessels, 
and left them stranded on dry land. The Ko¬ 
reans, thinking it was a tidal wave, and that the 
Japanese ships were likewise helpless in the 
undertow, leaped out of their galleys and rushed 
over the sand, and on to the attack. With shout¬ 
ing and drawn swords their aspect was terrible. 
When within range of the arrows, the Japanese 
bowmen opened volleys of double-headed, or 
triple-pronged arrows on the Koreans, and killed 
hundreds. 

But on they rushed, until near the Japanese 
ships, when the Empress taking out the Flood- 
Tide Jewel, cast it in the sea. In the snap of a 
finger, the ocean rolled up into a wave many 
tens of feet high and engulfed the Korean army, 
drowning them almost to a man. Only a few 
were left out of the ten thousand. The war¬ 
riors in their iron armor sank like lead in the boil¬ 
ing waves. The Japanese army landed safely, 
and easily conquered the country. The king of 
Korea surrendered and gave his bales of silk, 
jewels, mirrors, books, pictures, robes, tiger skins, 
and treasures of gold and silver to the Empress. 
The booty was loaded on eighty ships, and the 
Japanese army returned in triumph to their 
native country. 


178 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


But the Tide-Jewels had, of course, sunk into 
the sea when the Empress threw them there. 
Isora seized them at once and returned them to 
his master. 

Soon after her arrival at home, a son was born 
to the Empress Jingu, whom she named Ojin. 
He was one of the fairest children ever born of an 
imperial mother, and was very wise and wonder¬ 
ful even when an infant. As he grew up, he 
was full of the Spirit of Unconquerable Japan. 

The Prime Minister was a very venerable old 
man, who was said to be three hundred and sixty 
years old. He had been the counselor of five 
Mikados. He was very tall, and as straight as an 
arrow, when other old men w r ere bent like a bow. 
He served as a general in war and a civil officer 
in peace. For this reason he always kept on a 
suit of armor under his long satin and damask 
court robes. He wore the bear-skin shoes and 
the tiger-skin scabbard which were the general’s 
badge of rank, and also the high cap and long 
fringed strap hanging from the belt, which 
marked the court noble. He had moustaches, 
and a long beard fell over his breast like a foam¬ 
ing waterfall, as white as the snows on the 
branches of the pine trees of Ibuki Mountain. 

The Empress wished the little Ojin to live 
long, be wise and powerful, become a mighty 
warrior, be invulnerable in battle, and to have 


THE TIDE-JEWELS 


179 


control over the tides and the ocean as his mother 
once had. To do this it was necessary to get 
back the Tide-Jewels. 

So the Prime Minister took Ojin on his shoul¬ 
ders, mounted the imperial war-barge, whose sails 
were of gold-embroidered silk, and bade his 
rowers put out to sea. Then standing upright 
on the deck, he called on the Dragon King to 
come up out of the deep and give back the Jewels. 

At first there was no sign from the waves. 
The green sea lay glassy in the sunlight, and the 
water laughed and curled above the sides of the 
boat. Still the Prime Minister listened intently 
and waited reverently. He was not long in 
suspense. Looking down far under the spar¬ 
kling waves, he saw the head and fiery eyes of a 
dragon mounting upward. Instinctively he 
clutched his robe with his right hand, and held 
Ojin tightly on his shoulder, for this time it was 
not Isora, but the terrible Dragon King himself 
who was coming. 

What a great honor! The sea-king’s servant, 
Isora, had appeared to the Empress Jingu, but 
the Dragon King deigned to come in person to 
her son! 

The waters opened; the waves rolled up, curled, 
rolled into wreaths and hooks and drops of foam, 
which flecked the dark green curves with silvery 
bells. First appeared a living dragon with fire- 


180 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

darting eyes, long flickering moustaches, glitter¬ 
ing scales of green all ruffled, with terrible spines 
erect, and out of the joints of the fore-paws were 
curling jets of red fire. This living creature 
was the helmet of the Sea King. Next appeared 
the face of awful majesty and stern mein, as if 
with reluctant condescension, and then the jewel 
robes of the monarch. Then rose into view a 
huge shell, in which, on a bed of rare gems from 
the deep sea floor, glistened, blazed and flashed 
the two Jewels of the Tides. 

The Dragon King spoke, saying: “ Quick, 
take this casket. I deign not to remain long in 
this upper world of mortals. With these I en¬ 
dow the imperial prince of the Heavenly line of 
the Mikados of the Divine Country. He shall 
be invulnerable in battle. He shall have long 
life. To him I give power over sea and land. 
Of this, my promise, let these Tide-Jewels be the 
token.” 

Hardly were the words uttered when the 
Dragon King disappeared with a tremendous 
splash. The Prime Minister standing erect but 
breathless amid the crowd of rowers who, crouch¬ 
ing at the boat’s bottom, had not dared so much 
as to lift up their noses, waited a moment, and 
then gave the command to turn the prow to the 
shore. 

It came about just as the sea-king had said. 


THE TIDE-JEWELS 


181 


Ojin grew up and became a great warrior, in¬ 
vincible in battle and powerful in peace. He 
lived to be one hundred and eleven years old, 
and was one of the most famous princes who ever 
sat upon the throne beneath the sunlit banner of 
Japan. 


XXIV 


THE IDOL AND THE WHALE 

ROM heels to toes, man’s two feet are of 
the same length and so for all the animal 



creation. One would think that in 
measuring metal and for taking the length of 
cloth, the feet on the yardstick would be alike; 
but no! in Japan they are not. When you go 
out shopping and buy cloth or soft goods, you 
will find the “ whale measure ” used. Do you 
go to the lumber or stone yard, or see anything 
hard measured, then the man pulls out his 
“ metal foot ” and marks off the length. There 
are two inches of difference, but why? 

We must go to Kamakura to find out. 

The old Buddha image that has stood out in 
the rain for seven hundred years could tell you, 
were it to open its metal lips. It is about the 
tallest piece of bronze in the world, with eyes of 
pure gold, and a great silver boss on its forehead, 
that looks like the full moon, and it has eight 
hundred big curls on its head. These are the 
snails that kindly coiled themselves on Buddha’s 


182 


THE IDOL AND THE WHALE 183 

head when by thinking too much, in the hot sun 
of India, he might have been sunstruck. 

When the great general, Yoritomo, gave peace 
to Japan after long wars, he laid out the city of 
Kamakura. To attract pilgrims to the new 
capital, he ordered the greatest image of Buddha 
in all Japan to be reared in his capital. When 
finished, the sitting figure rose fifty feet in the 
air. It was ninety-seven feet in circumference, 
the length of its face was eight feet, and the 
width from ear to ear seventeen feet, and from 
knee to knee it measured twelve yards. As for 
the thumbs, they were three feet round. Over 
it was built a lordly temple and the columns of 
camphor wood were covered with gold. 

Such a colossal image quickly became the talk 
of people throughout the empire. Thousands of 
pilgrims started out to see the wonder, until the 
roads in summer were white with the pious folk 
of scrip and staff. Even the sailors on the sea 
chatted concerning it and the fishermen as they 
plied their nets, made it the subject of their talk. 
All agreed that the idol of Kamakura was the 
largest of all things in earth, air, or ocean. 

Now there was a great white Whale living 
in the Northern Sea who prided himself on 
being the biggest thing in water and far ahead 
of any living being on the land. At first he 
laughed at the idea that puny men had made 


184 JAPANESE FAIRY, TALES 

an image in their own shape, that could compete 
with him in size. He would not believe it, but 
when he heard of the great pilgrimages and how 
the coffers of the priests were being filled with 
the money of the admiring visitors, he was vexed 
and worried. Day by day the fleets of ships mul¬ 
tiplied on the ocean, sailing right over his head. 
They were loaded with people bent on seeing the 
golden eyes of Buddha. All the smaller whales 
and the fish of every fin reported to him that peo¬ 
ple were talking of nothing else. Every one 
praised the beauty and extolled the vastness of 
this greatest wonder in the Everlasting Country 
of Peaceful Shores. 

The big Whale almost went crazy to think of 
being smaller than an image which men had made. 
Fretting and fuming, he thrashed around with 
his tail, making a great commotion, and rose up 
to the surface to blow twice as often as usual. 
Jealous, indignant, and angry by turns, he 
seemed a totally different creature from the polite 
whale of other days. All the fishes gave him a 
wide berth. Lonely and miserable, he grew thin 
with worry. At last, unable to sleep or to eat, 
he called to him the Shark and questioned him. 

“ Is it possible that a little man can raise a 
mountain of copper and make it look like him¬ 
self? ” asked his White Majesty. 

“ Well, Sire, what one man could not do, thou- 


THE IDOL AND THE WHALE 185 


sands of them together might succeed in doing. 
I myself should like to see the great Buddha they 
are talking about.” 

44 Go then,” said the white Whale, 44 to the 
Southern Sea and find out whether this famous 
idol is as big as I am. Be sure to bring me a 
true account.” 

Off started the Shark, and after days and 
nights of swimming arrived off the shore. Alas, 
the great image was half a mile inland and sharks 
cannot walk! He swam around carefully to find 
some creature with wings or legs to act as his mes¬ 
senger to go and measure the mighty image. 
Espying a junk lying at anchor near the beach 
he swam cautiously near. It was a hot day and 
early in the afternoon, and every man Jack on 
board was sound asleep, for this was napping 
time. The Shark soon lost all anxiety concern¬ 
ing harpoons, and fear of having his flesh cut up 
and put on sale in the fish-shops next day. But 
what of his messenger? 

Happily a Rat, lured out from below decks 
by the quiet, was running along the low bulwark. 
It had never been spoken kindly to before and 
was quite pleased when the Shark—with gentle 
voice, so as not to arouse the sailors—cried out, 
as he poked his nose out of the water, 44 Mr. Rat, 
I want you to help me. Will you do it? ” 

The Rat was tickled beyond measure to be thus 


186 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

addressed, and wondered how he could be so use¬ 
ful to so big a fish. He kept back a good dis¬ 
tance, however, for he had heard of Cat-fish and 
did not want to run the risk of being gobbled up. 
Besides he had listened to the sailors as they 
talked about people with a “ Cat’s voice,” mean¬ 
ing those who knew how to coax, or flatter. So 
he was wary. 

Then in a low tone the Shark told the Rat 
what he had come for. It was an honour to serve 
the lord Whale, as the biggest thing in the world, 
and it might save his lordship’s life, or at least 
his health, to know the exact facts as to the size 
of the famous idol. 

“ Would Mr. Rat be so kind as to go and 
measure it? ” he ended. 

“ Willingly,” said the Rat, feeling highly 
honored to serve the lord of the ocean and his 
prime minister. 

So, at the first opportunity, the Rat got ashore. 
He kept his eyes open for fear of Cats, which the 
Japanese call rat-killers. He ran as fast as he 
could to the temple which then enclosed the 
image. Once safely inside, he drew his breath, 
while thinking what next to do. 

Truth to tell, the Rat was himself amazed at 
the size of the image. “A mountain of metal, 
sure enough,” said he. But how should he meas¬ 
ure so vast an object? While thinking over the 


THE IDOL AND THE WHALE 187 

matter, the incense nearly made him sneeze. 
This he feared to do, lest some Puss should be 
about and pounce on him. Suddenly a brilliant 
thought struck him. He walked around the 
image and counting his steps, found he made five 
thousand paces. Then he ran back to his home 
on a junk, crawled down the cable close to the 
anchor and told the Shark all about what he had 
seen and gave the measurement. 

Heartily thanking his four-legged friend, the 
Shark was off with a splash that actually woke 
up the sailors from their naps. One of them 
ran for a harpoon, but it was too late. Mr. 
Shark was off. Arriving in that part of the 
Northern Sea where the Whale was blowing, he 
told his story. All the reports of the idol’s size 
were true and the circumference of its pedestal 
was five thousand feet. 

Frantic with jealousy and unable to believe 
the story, the Whale determined to see for him¬ 
self. Putting on his magic boots, which enabled 
him to travel overland, he reached the temple at 
Kamakura at night, when all men were abed, and 
knocked at the door. 

“ Come in,” sounded the Buddha’s voice like 
the boom of a bell. 

“ I cannot,” groaned the Whale. 

“ Why not? ” 

“ Because I am far too large.” 


188 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


44 Who are you? ” 

4 4 1 am the great white Whale of the Northern 
Sea.” 

“ What do you want? ” 

44 1 want to see if you are bigger than I am. 
I cannot get into you, so please come out to me.” 

Thus respectfully addressed, the idol stepped 
off his pedestal, and presented himself outside. 
The Whale was so overpowered that he trembled 
and knocked his head on the earth in profound 
respect. He now believed that what he had 
heard was almost true. On the other hand, the 
Buddha was astounded at the Whale’s prodigious 
bulk. 

By this time the chief priest and guardian 
of the temple was awake and up. He was nearly 
frightened out of his senses to find the pedestal 
empty. But hearing the conversation, and be¬ 
ing invited by both the idol and the Whale to 
take their measure, he seized his rosary and began 
to measure. Each watched the other with 
a jealous eye, but the Whale, to his intense sat¬ 
isfaction, found that he was two inches longer 
and taller than his rival. 

That settled it. Without even once thanking 
the idol or the priest for the trouble he had given 
them, he flippered off, slid into the water and was 
soon spouting in triumph in the great Northern 
Sea. The idol quietly returned to his pedestal. 





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THE IDOL AND THE WHALE 189 


and as for the priest, when he told his story next 
day, both his brethren and the people declared it 
must have been a dream. 

Nevertheless the man in the dry-goods store 
and the dealer in wood and iron settled their own 
long standing quarrel as to what was a foot and 
agreed to differ. To this day the “ whale foot ” 
is two inches longer than the “ metal foot.” 


THE GRATEFUL CRANE 


u TTJ^IGHTING sparrows fear not man,” as 
gi the old proverb says. Yet it was not a 
sparrow but a crane that fell down out 
of the air. Near the feet of Musai, the farmer’s 
boy, it lay, as he waded in the ooze of his rice- 
field, working from daybreak to sundown. 

The farmer’s boy was used to cranes, for in 
the plough’s furrow on the dry land these long- 
legged birds walked close behind, not the least 
afraid in the Mikado’s dominions. For who 
would hurt the white-breasted creature, that 
every one called the Honorable Lord Crane? 
The graceful birds seemed to love to be near 
man, when he worked in the wet or paddy-fields, 
where under four inches of water the seeds were 
planted and the rice plants grew. So graceful 
in all its movements is the crane, that many a 
dainty little maid, who acts politely, hears herself 
spoken of as the “ bird that rises from the water 
without muddying the stream.” 

Musai hurried to the grassy bank at the edge 
of the paddy-field as fast as he could wade 
190 


THE GRATEFUL CRANE 191 

through the liquid mud, to see what was the mat¬ 
ter with the crane. Throwing down his hoe, and 
looking in the grass, he saw that an arrow was 
sticking in the crane’s back, and that red drops of 
blood dappled its white plumage. Instead of 
seeming frightened when the man came near, the 
bird bent down its neck, as if to submit to what¬ 
ever the farmer’s boy should do. 

Gently Musai plucked out the arrow and 
helped the bird to rise, pushing back the under¬ 
growth so that its broad white pinions could have 
free play. After a few feeble attempts to fly, it 
spread its wings, rose up from the earth, and after 
circling several times round its benefactor as 
though to thank him, it flew off to the mountain. 

Musai went back to his work, hoping that in 
season his labor would yield a good crop. He 
had his widowed mother to support and must 
needs toil every day. His one delight was to 
come home, weary after the long hours of labor 
in the muddy rice-field, and have a hot bath. 
This his mother always had ready for him. Then, 
clean and with a fresh kimono, and a little rest 
before supper-time, he was ready for a quiet eve¬ 
ning with the neighbors. 

So in routine the days passed by until autumn 
was near at hand. One day, returning before the 
sun was fully set, he found seated beside his 
mother a lovely girl. In spite of his contempt- 


192 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

ible appearance after a day’s toil, working bare¬ 
legged in the mire, she welcomed him with the 
grace of a princess. 

Not thinking of returning the salute, in his 
unwashed condition, he took off his head-kerchief, 
drew in his breath, and bowing to his mother 
asked: 

“ Who is the honorable That Side, and how 
comes she into this miserable hut? ” 

“ My son,” replied his mother, “ though you 
are a man, you have as yet no wife. Your vir¬ 
tues of obedience, filial reverence, fidelity, and 
politeness have made you well known. Hence 
this fair damsel is not unwilling to become your 
wife. But, without your consent, I could not 
answer her proposal. What do you think about 
it?” 

The young farmer, though highly compli¬ 
mented, at first said little, but he thought hard. 
“ Daintily reared, and perhaps of noble birth is 
she, but should I gratify her desire, how can she 
bear the poverty to which we are accustomed? 
Will she be patient, when she has to suffer hun¬ 
ger? Or, shall we be separated, and that which 
promises love and happiness last only a little 
while, to pass away, leaving gloom and sorrow 
behind? ” 

But as the days slipped along, and when he 
saw how kind she was to her new mother, ever 


THE GRATEFUL CRANE 193 


patient and self-denying in loving reverence, all 
his fears were driven away like clouds before the 
wind. So the young man and woman were mar¬ 
ried. 

But when the full autumn time came for the 
rice ears to fill and round out, nothing was found 
but husk and shell. The crop was a total failure. 
With heavy taxes unpaid and no food in the 
house, starvation loomed before them. By 
winter, all were in dire distress. 

Then the patient wife revealed new powers 
and cheered her husband, saying: 

“ I can spin such cloth as was never made in 
this province, if you will build me a separate 
room. I cannot weave here, or make the fine 
pattern of red and white except when alone and 
in perfect silence. Build me a room, and the 
money you need will flow in.” 

The old mother was doubtful as to her daugh¬ 
ter-in-law’s project and even Musai was but half¬ 
hearted. Yet he went to work diligently. With 
beam, and wattle, and thatch, floor of mats and 
window of latticed paper, with walls made tight 
because well daubed with clay, he built the room 
apart. There alone, day by day, secluded from 
all, the sweet wife toiled unseen. The mother 
and husband patiently waited, until after a week, 
the little woman rejoined the little family circle. 
In her hands she bore a roll of woven stuff, white 


194 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

and sheeny, as lustrous and pure as fresh fallen 
snow. Yet here and there, a crimson thread in 
the stuff did but intensify the purity of the other¬ 
wise unflecked whiteness. Pure red and pure 
white were the only colors of this wonderful fab¬ 
ric. 

“ What shall we call it? ” inquired the amazed 
husband. * 

“ It has no name, for there is none other in the 
world like it,” said the fair weaver. 

“ But I must have a name. I shall take it to 
the Daimio. He will not buy, if he does not 
know how it is called.” 

“ Then,” said the wife, “ tell him its name is 
6 White Crane’s-down cloth.’ ” 

Quickly passed the snowy fabric into the hands 
of the lord of the castle, who sent it as a present 
to the Empress in Kioto. All were amazed by 
it, and the Empress commanded the donor to be 
richly rewarded. The farmer husband, bearing 
a thousand pieces of coin in his bag, hastened 
home to spread the shining silver at his mother’s 
feet and to thank the wife who had brought him 
fortune. A feast followed, and for many weeks 
the family lived easily on the money thus gained. 
Then, when again on the edge of need, Musai 
asked his wife if she were willing to weave another 
web of the wonderful Crane’s-down cloth. 

Cheerfully she agreed, cautioning him to leave 


THE GRATEFUL CRANE 195 

her in privacy, and not to look upon her until she 
came forth with the cloth. 

But alas for the spirit of prying impertinence 
and wicked curiosity! Not satisfied with hav¬ 
ing been delivered from starvation by a wife that 
served him like a slave, Musai stealthily crept up 
to the paper partition, touched his tongue to the 
latticed pane, and poked his finger noiselessly 
through, thus making a round hole to which he 
glued his eye and looked in. 

What a sight! There was no woman at work, 
but a noble white crane—the same that he had 
seen in the field, and from whose back he had 
extracted the hunter’s arrow. Bending over the 
spinning-wheel, the bird pulled from her own 
breast the silky down, and by twining and twist¬ 
ing made it into the finest thread which mortals 
ever beheld. From time to time, she pressed 
from her heart’s blood red drops with which to 
dye some strands, and thus the weaving went on. 
Thus minute by minute the web of the cloth was 
nearly finished. 

Musai astounded looked on without moving, 
until suddenly called by his mother, he cried out 
in response, “ Yes, I’m coming.” 

The startled crane turned and saw the eye in 
the wall. Throwing down thread and web she 
moved angrily to the door, gave a shrill scream 
and flew out under the sky. Like a white speck 


196 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

against the blue hills, she appeared for a little 
while and then was lost to sight. 

Son and mother once more faced poverty and 
loneliness, and Musai again splashed barelegged 
in the rice-field. 


XXVI 


THE SWORD THAT MOWED 
THE GRASS 

I N 1906, when the great Japanese general 
Yamagata crossed America, over the Union 
Pacific railway, the young newspaper men 
and our army officers told him about the prairies 
and Indians of early days. 

General Yamagata was much pleased to hear 
these stories. 

Then he told them about the “ Japanese In¬ 
dians,” and prairies of old times, in Japan, long, 
long ago. 

Once these “ Japanese Indians,” as he called 
them, lived all over Japan, as hunters and fisher¬ 
men, in all the region around what is now Tokio 
and Yokohama, which was flat, grassy land, full 
of wild game and savage men. By and by the 
time came that settlers must go into the East and 
North land to possess the whole country for the 
Mikado. Then the people from the South and 
West would enter the new region and build 
houses and temples and have rice-fields and happy 
197 


198 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


homes. Then great cities would grow and ships 
sail the seas, so that even people in the cold 
North, where winters were long, could have 
oranges, lemons and sugar from the warm land 
of the South. 

Rut these “ Japanese Indians ” were rough 
fellows, and they fought against the Mikado’s 
men, just as the red savages did, in our colonial 
days, when we had no flag or president. They 
were the white cave men of the early ages. They 
had stone knives and hatchets and were very skil¬ 
ful in hunting bears. They did not like farmers, 
or strangers among them, and they gave great 
trouble to the emigrants who came to settle the 
new country. They shot poisoned arrows at the 
men at work in the pastures. They broke down 
the fences. They let the water run out of the 
ditches made to irrigate the fields, in which rice 
was planted. They burned the houses and stacks 
of grain and they killed the horses and oxen of 
the settlers. Sometimes in autumn they would 
set the long prairie grass on fire. ‘ In many 
strange ways, they made it hard for the new 
people. 

Now when the Mikado’s son, Prince Yamato, 
was thirty years of age, he was ordered to march 
with an army to subdue these Eastern savages. 
The Emperor gave his son a spear that was of 
eight arms’ length. This was much like our pre- 


THE SWORD THAT MOWED 199 


senting a flag to the color sergeant of a regiment 
of soldiers. Along with Prince Yamato went his 
dear wife, the Princess Orange Blossom, for she 
was brave and was never afraid. 

On his way toward the Rising Sun, Prince 
Yamato stopped at a temple, in which his aunt 
was a priestess. Here was laid up, as a great 
treasure, a famous sword of keenest edge and 
finest temper. This she brought out and gave 
to her nephew, together with a bag full of flints; 
for there were no matches in those days and flint 
and steel were used to strike fire and light candles. 

So into the far Eastern region, where were 
few Japanese people, but many of the savage 
people called Ainu, who have eyes and noses 
and beards like white men, the Prince and his 
army marched. They passed through Owari, 
where is now the great City of the Long House. 
It has a famous castle, on the top of the corners 
of which were the golden dolphins, many feet 
high, with scales of shining gold. 

Soon they came to the glorious Matchless 
Mountain of Fujiyama, rising with its crown 
of snow far up to the blue sky and its majestic 
form casting a shadow at sunset many miles long 
and far over the sea. 

Then climbing over the lovely Hakone moun¬ 
tains, to which young folks now go for their pic¬ 
nics and to which many people in summer from 


200 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

the cities come, they saw lying before them the 
great grassy plains that lie around the Bay of 
Yedo. 

When they came down the mountain to the flat 
land, the deer were so plentiful that Yamato 
made a plan to hunt them with some of his men 
and get plenty of venison. So, with their bows 
and arrows, they rode into the high grass, which 
came up to the horses’ breasts and even to the 
saddles. 

They did not know that thousands of the Ainu 
were hiding in the grass and behind logs and 
bushes; for when the Ainu went to war and 
fought their battles, they were just like the 
American Indians. It was hard for the soldiers 
even to see their foes, that lay in ambush and at¬ 
tacked them. 

When the Ainu savages had seen the strangers 
coming, they were very glad to find these were 
going to hunt deer and would thus be scattered. 
So their chief called together his fighting men, 
and said to them: 

“ Come on and spread yourselves all around 
and set fire to the grass on three sides and, most 
of all, where the wind is blowing. We’ll burn 
up these proud fellows and drive them away. 
Then, the whole army in retreat will march back 
and leave us and our country to ourselves.” 

So when the hunters were well scattered, the 


THE SWORD THAT MOWED 201 

Ainu set fire to the tall grass and the wind blow¬ 
ing fiercely, the Prince and his party soon found 
themselves in a cloud of smoke. This so filled 
their eyes, that they could not see anything and 
might be burned alive. Already they felt the 
fierce heat. For a few moments, they were at 
their wit’s end to know what to do. 

Should they fail and leave only their blackened 
corpses lying in the new land? 

Not so, thought the Prince, who remembered 
the bag of flints, which his wise aunt had given 
him. Drawing this bag from his girdle, he first 
called his men together and then bade them scat¬ 
ter and strike fire with the flints on the backs of 
their swords. To each man he gave a little ball 
of tinder, telling him to set fire to the grass near 
him and then turn his back to the wind and 
smoke. 

Quickly the Mikado’s soldiers plied their tasks 
and soon the flames of the big fire rolled away 
from them. Yet behind them, the sheets of fire 
and smoke, which the Ainu had kindled, were 
coming nearer and nearer, and threatened to burn 
and choke them. 

Seeing this, Yamato drew his sharp sword and 
swinging it round about him as if it were a scythe, 
he cut another great space, while his men threw 
the bundles of grass away from them into the 
burned space they had made. 


202 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


Their lives were saved! Wonderful to tell, 
the wind after a while changed its direction and 
burned up many of the savages themselves, before 
they could escape. 

So Prince Yamato gained a famous victory 
over the cave men of the savage region. In time, 
other generals extended the reign of the Mikado 
toward the pole star. 

Because of Prince Yamato’s conquest, the 
Mikado’s realm became known as The Land of 
the Rising Sun—for that is what the name Japan 
means. 

In our day, when we travel across the country, 
from the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan in a 
palace car, we pass a station with the sign 
“ Yaidzu,” which is named after the famous 
prairie battle in the grass, when a sword became 
a scythe and was used as a mower. 


XXVII 


PRINCE YAMATO’S ADVENTURES 

D URING all the journeys of Prince 
Yamato, his wife, the Princess Orange 
Blossom, was with her husband. She 
proudly carried his sword for him when traveling 
and handed it to him when he rode off to battle 
with the savages. 

When the Prince and his army arrived at the 
Bay of Yedo, his men hastily made light boats 
with sails and rudders. The Prince was in a 
great hurry to get across the bay, into the land 
beyond and win more victories over the Ainu sav¬ 
ages. 

His men, fearing a storm, thought it a hard 
matter to cross the bay, but Prince Yamato was 
so filled with the pride of his victory, that he 
scoffed at the idea of the bay’s being too big or 
wide and of any trouble in crossing. For indeed 
the water looked very calm and as level as a mir¬ 
ror. So he jeered at the workmen and cried 
out: 

“ This is no ocean, but only a creek. I could 
jump over it if I tried to.” 

203 


204 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


When Riu Jin, the Dragon King of the World 
Under the Sea heard this, he became very angry 
and he said to his dragons: 

“ This proud fellow, a mere mortal, thinks 
I have no power over my waters. He has 
insulted me and I’ll show him his folly.” 

So Riu Jin gave orders to his rain dragons to 
rise up into the clouds and make them pour down 
a flood of water from the skies. 

To the storm dragons he said, “ Go up to the 
surface of the water and with all your might lash 
the bay with your scaly tails until the waves rise 
like high hills. I’ll punish the proud invader of 
my realm, even if he is a prince, and do you 
watch, to see if he repents. Only when he offers 
me a victim, do you make the storm cease.” 
Then, looking at both armies of his dragons, of 
rain and of the storm waves, he waved his hand as 
a signal to go. 

When the hundreds of boats of Yamato’s army 
started from the shore to go across the bay, there 
was blue sky and a shining sun and scarcely a 
ripple. But when hardly half-way across, the 
heavens became black. A deluge of rain water 
fell from the clouds, and the rising waves seemed 
as if they would wash all on board into the deep. 

In vain they lowered sail, took to the oars and 
by rudder tried to steer the boats in such a way 
as to meet the waves and break their force, or go 


PRINCE YAMATO 


205 


through them. All faces were pale and the 
stoutest hearts became cold, for they feared 
greatly because of the sea-god’s wrath. 

Then the bravest woman in the empire, the 
Princess Orange Blossom, stood forth on the 
edge of the Prince’s ship and cried out: 

“ All this storm has come because Riu Jin has 
felt himself insulted. I shall leap into the waves 
to calm his wrath. Farewell, my dear hus¬ 
band! ” Then she prayed to the Dragon King 
to bring her husband, the Prince, and his army 
safely to the opposite shore. 

Her prayers said, she leaped into the boiling 
billows. Within five minutes a great calm fell 
on the whole scene. The waves sank to water 
level. The wind ceased arid from the blue sky 
the sun shone out again, and white birds came 
sailing through the air. Prince Yamato landed 
with his army and subdued the Ainu savages. 
They all promised to obey the Mikado, and be¬ 
come Japanese. 

So having done what his imperial father had 
given him orders to do, Prince Yamato began his 
homeward march to the West. This time, in 
order to get back to Kioto, he did not take the 
low and flat Eastern Road, over which he had 
come, but went further north over the Middle 
Mountain Road. 

This rough path, through the high lands of 


206 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

Japan, was in those days little more than a trail. 
Moreover it was full of dangers in the form of 
bad fairies, terribly large serpents, wild beasts 
and creatures with poisonous breath. Yet on he 
went, Yamato and his men. They climbed the 
steep Usui pass and when at the top the Prince 
looked back. Seeing the great wide plain, with 
prairie after prairie stretching to the sea, and the 
blue waters of the shining Ray of Yedo, he 
thought of his dear wife, the Princess Orange 
Blossom, who made herself a victim to the 
Dragon King’s wrath, in order to save him, her 
husband. 

His feelings of sorrow overcame him and he 
sighed, “Adzuma! adzuma!” which means 
“ Alas, alas, my wife, my wife! ” 

This word became the name of the new country 
in Mikado land. To this day Eastern Japan 
is called in poetry Adzuma, and this is also the 
name of a war vessel, Japan’s first iron-clad. 

Prince Yamato and his little army turned their 
faces to the West and went on over the moun¬ 
tains, then so covered with forests, that the path 
was hard to find; but after many adventures and 
much toil they reached the plain along the sea. 
There, in one village, he saw signs of mourning 
and heard many people weeping. 

Calling the head men of the village before him, 
he asked them 44 What is the matter? What is 


PRINCE YAMATO 


207 


the meaning of these signs of grief? Can I help 
you? ” he asked. 

Then they told him of a terrible monster, half 
snake and half dragon, with breath that poisoned 
the people that came down from its mountain lair 
and seized the virgins and dragged them off to 
eat them up. It killed the men and terrified the 
women, so that all the people were afraid, even 
to slide open their doors, to go out to plant rice, 
or get water whether they wanted it either to 
drink or to wash clothes with. 

At this, the Prince Yamato’s wrath rose and 
was hot. At once he set out to the hilltop where 
the snaky monster’s lair was. He had no wife 
now to hand him his trusty sword. In fact, he 
went out unarmed, with no weapon of any kind 
in his hand. 

The climbing was so steep that he was nearly 
out of breath when he reached the hilltop. Then 
there suddenly appeared in his path a frightful 
serpent, with its wide mouth open and its red 
fangs darting forward. 

But before the beast had time to coil and 
spring, the Prince seized the monstrous serpent 
by the throat and strangled it, until it lay dead at 
his feet. 

But the great serpent’s breath had so poisoned 
the air that, like a heavy mist, it hung over the 
hills; so that half blinded and dizzy, Prince 


208 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


Yamato had to grope his way down, but when 
once on the plain, a wind blew away the fog and 
cloud. After a while, the sun shining clearly, he 
felt himself revived again. 

But soon again, the pains came upon him and 
he fell down fainting among his men. He could 
not walk. So they carried him back to the heal¬ 
ing hot springs, which to this day make thousands 
of sick folks well again. 

After some weeks he was able to stand on his 
feet and to walk once more. So he reached the 
sacred shrine, which, to this day, when one looks 
out of the car window, on the left hand side, when 
traveling from Tokio, he sees peeping out of a 
grove of trees. There he met again his aunt, the 
priestess, who had given him the bag of flints, 
when traveling to the East. 

The priestess sallied forth with her maidens to 
welcome Prince Yamato, and there, on reaching 
the shrine, he laid up the famous victory sword, 
naming it Grass Mower. 

Even in our day, after more than a thousand 
years, this sword, with the sacred mirror, that 
was given by the Sun Goddess, and the crystal 
sphere, is among the three precious treasures 
which form the Imperial regalia of Everlasting 
Great Japan. These are like the crown jewels 
of old Europe, when there were many kings and 
emperors. 


PRINCE YAMATO 209 

And how did Prince Yamato die, and where is 
his family buried? 

Ah, now we tell the most beautiful part of our 
story, even as it was told in ancient times. 

When, worn out with his toils, in exploring and 
subduing a new country for the Mikado, he 
passed away, his spirit took the form of a white 
bird and flew away toward the sky. So to-day, 
when boys and girls in Japan see the graceful 
snow-white crane, flying from hill to hill and 
mound to mound, no one harms these lovely crea¬ 
tures. They seem like snowflakes on the land¬ 
scape, which in Japan is ever clothed with living 
green. All the good boys hope to be as brave as 
Prince Yamato, and the girls pray to be as noble 
and unselfish as his wife, Princess Orange Blos¬ 
som. 


XXVIII 


THE GIFT OF GOLD LACQUER 
THOUSAND years ago the Great Bud¬ 



dha’s gospel came to Japan to make the 


rough people gentle and the cruel kind. 
Human beings at once began to care for animals. 
The nobles and common folks alike were glad to 
hear the good news and learn how to help one 
another and the dumb brutes. 

The Empress ordered that a pagoda should be 
built in every province and a temple in every 
village. So happy was every one to see arising 
in his village so grand a building, that even the 
hoys and girls helped in the work. Some carried 
stones and wood, others brought clay and plaster. 
Even the ladies cut r off their long black hair and 
had it made into ropes to haul the materials. 
The big tree trunks cut in the forest were drawn 
to the carpenters, who smoothed and shaped them 
into temple columns. 

Soon, in many a village, tall and stately edi¬ 
fices rose high above the thatched cottages of the 
humble folks. The long sloping roof, instead of 
being covered with rice straw, was handsomely 


210 


GIFT OF GOLD LACQUER 211 

shingled and the new timber gave out a sweet 
smell. When the ridge pole was put up the 
builders set a bow and arrow at each end hop¬ 
ing to shoot and kill any demons that should 
come near, but they were most afraid of fire that 
might burn down the building and thus make 
all their work come to naught. So at the end 
of the gable they fixed the great devil’s tile on 
which were moulded figures of the water weed 
to put out the flames. To guard againsk sparks 
that might fly from the chimneys of houses near 
by, they planted rows of tall trees to act as a wall 
of defense. Thus they hoped to keep lord Bud¬ 
dha’s temple standing for a thousand years. 

Then the men that could carve and paint and 
work metal came up from the capital city to make 
the inside glorious to behold. Soon the lights 
and the incense, the shining brass, the burning 
candles and brilliant altar furniture, the lofty 
columns made of whole camphor trees, the ceiling 
of grained wood, the silken rolls of writing on the 
reading desk, the intoning of the sacred books 
and the chanting of the priests who were dressed 
in silk robes, made a splendid sight and a charm¬ 
ing sound. 

“Isn’t it delightful!” said one wrinkled old 
granny. “ I feel quite young again, for I can 
see and hear and smell as never before.” 

“ Yes, such music and sweet odors and such 


212 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


glory to look upon, I never expected to see,” said 
her daughter, who was a mother and had brought 
her boy Toko with her. 

As for the temple itself, it was full of grown 
people and children, admiring everything. They 
felt grateful for the good doctrine taught by the 
learned priests, some of whom had traveled across 
the sea from Korea. The first sermon of the 
bonze was on being kind to all creatures. It was 
our duty, said he, to love even the worms, and 
the crickets. 

All the beasts of the field and the birds of the 
air also rejoiced that Buddha’s doctrine had come 
to the Mikado’s realm, for now human beings 
were kinder than ever to their dumb friends with 
wings or on four feet. Even during the winter, 
no bird froze or deer starved. Farmers were 
patient, even with the monkeys that were so nu¬ 
merous as to be mischievous. In the field the 
white heron could walk unfrightened in the fur¬ 
rows behind the plowman, picking up its food 
joyfully. 

These simple folk were easily pleased, for as 
yet there was no gilding, or varnish, or fine art, 
but only plain wood and metal. There was no 
gold leaf or shining vermilion or violet lacquer 
yet. Rough and rude enough, the sacred build¬ 
ing might seem to a traveler, for it could not 
compare for a moment with gorgeous temples in 


GIFT OF GOLD LACQUER 213 

India, the gilded ceilings of Korea, or the porce¬ 
lain pagodas of China. 

Happy though they were, yet every one of 
the villagers wondered how they could make their 
temple still more lovely. Some even dreamed 
at night of the far-off pagodas, of which their 
bonze told them. One farmer, who was very 
kind to the cranes and who carefully refrained 
from ever killing even an insect, was especially 
eager to transfer the sheen of the beetles and 
the gloss of feathers to common wood, and long 
he pondered on how to do it. He would have 
the brilliancy of the dragon-fly cover up the knot 
marks, and the metallic lustre of the pheasant's 
wings to overlay plain pine. But how to com¬ 
pass the mystery filled him with care. 

One night weary with his work in the rice- 
field, as he slept, a beautiful white bird with black 
tips on its wing feathers appeared to him and 
talked about making the temple tables and altars 
glossy and rich in color. 

“Iam the spirit of the lacquer tree that grows 
in the deep forest. I poison the men that wound 
me. My trunk has a milk-white sap. Tap it 
and stir up the juice in a wooden vessel. As 
soon as it becomes thick, apply it to wood. Then 
the temple columns will shine like jet. Be wise, 
and don’t laugh when I tell you a secret. It 
must dry in a wet atmosphere. Guard yourself, 


214 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 

for there is danger. Put not your hands in the 
liquid. Persevere. Be clean. Farewell!” 

The farmer woke up and wondered what all 
this meant, but tired and sleepy, his eyes were 
soon closed again. Not till the raven croaked 
to tell the sun was risen, did he wake up again. 
Then remembering the vision, he sallied forth 
axe in hand with his boy who carried a pail into 
the forest. Coming to a tree he gave it a blow 
and out trickled a white juice. It made his nose 
and eyes tingle, but collecting a pint or so of the 
stuff, he took it home, and, after agitating it in a 
platter, left it quiet over night. 

The next morning everybody in the house was 
growling. Noses, eyes and lips smarted. What 
was the cause? The now dark fluid was not yet 
suspected. Another night and their mouths and 
eyelids felt as if hornets had stung them. On 
the third day, with their eyes nearly closed, they 
fumbled about like blind folks. For the first 
time, they suspected the tree juice, now very 
black and ugly, and were tempted to throw it 
away. Nevertheless, though suffering, the 
farmer lad and father kept their temper and were 
kinder than ever to the birds in the field. 

At night in his dreams the spirit of the tree, 
in the form of a white crane, again appeared to 
the farmer. 

“ Try again and be not discouraged. For 


GIFT OF GOLD LACQUER 21 5 

your faithfulness in keeping the tree juice, even 
when you were poisoned, I shall reveal to you 
another secret, even that of colors and to your 
son that of gold. This art shall not be horn in 
the fire, like that of the clay which makes cup 
and vase. I shall show you what water can do. 
Go forth again. Have more patience.” 

They obeyed, and this time the father brought 
also his fair daughter. Behold the three, armed 
with axe, sap-spout and bucket, going forth 
among the bamboo and into the forest. Select¬ 
ing a fat trunk, the trio ranged themselves in line 
a few yards apart. Then praying first to the 
spirit of the tree, and begging pardon for wound¬ 
ing its body, the man ran forward and gave a 
resounding whack which seemed to stun the tree 
and make it weep. Drops fell like tears. At 
the same moment there rose out of the top 
branches the same white crane which he had seen 
in his dream. 

The memory of the stinging poisonous sap 
made the boy hesitate to rush forward and insert 
the spout, so that the sap should not be wasted. 
As if to encourage the lad, the crane flew down 
lower and lower and then in circles round the 
boy’s head. So plucking up courage, he dashed 
up and squeezed the spout into the gaping wound 
made by the axe. Nearly blinded by the acrid 
fumes, father and son remained at a distance and 


216 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


in safety waited to see the girl trip forth bravely 
with the bucket. 

Only one circling of the encouraging crane 
around the maiden’s head was necessary to give 
her nerve. In a moment, into the vessel, which 
she placed on the ground, the white sap fell. 
Drip, drip, like milk it issued until the bucket 
was nearly full, but she and her father and 
brother kept at a distance. 

They waited at home until the stars were out 
and gone again before approaching the tree again 
to bring in the twenty-four hours’ yield. 

“ Let us this morning make ourselves pure by 
cleansing ourselves carefully,” said the father, 
“ as the tree spirit said.” Fresh from the bath 
and in clean clothes they sallied forth and brought 
home their prize. 

Night after night the feather-robed spirit of 
the tree spoke to both father and son in vision, 
each time commending their faithfulness. 
Slowly, day by day, the soreness and poisonous 
effect of the fresh juice, now made into shining 
lacquer, passed off. They learned to apply it 
skilfully, clothing common wood with a hard 
glossy armor. Their wooden bowls, set to dry 
on shelves sopped with a wet cloth, became like 
glazed porcelain and their little breakfast table 
like enamel. Yet the mystery of gloss was not 
gained in fire but by water. With each opening 


GIFT OF GOLD LACQUER 217 

of the morning glory, the elder gained fresh 
patience and the younger more skill. Neither 
heat nor cold, salt nor sour hurt lacquer, and com¬ 
mon wood seemed like metal. Out of paper cov¬ 
ered with this hard varnish laid on in many coats 
the warriors made coats as tough as iron. 

It was now the boy's turn in his dreams to be 
told fresh secrets from the crane. He learned to 
mix the varnish with many colors. When he 
laid away his work in moisture the lustre became 
dazzlingly brilliant. One day adding gold leaf, 
he found the noble mixture made extraordinary 
beauty. So still keeping his secret he traveled 
to Nara, the capital, and learned drawing and 
painting from the Korean artists. 

Toko now become a decorator of temples and 
a maker of altar furniture. He fashioned writ¬ 
ing boxes for poetry parties and desks for the 
learned monks. On a cabinet of drawers for 
his mother he drew and finished in gold lacquer 
a picture of his native village and the fields and 
hills toward the west. The fame of his skill 
reached the ears of the Emperor, who invited 
him to make a splendid picnic box, for which 
he paid him a thousand rolls of silk. A tray for 
the Empress was the wonder of all in the palace. 
With gold leaf and lacquer the village temple 
now looked like an Imperial shrine. Pilgrims 
traveled from all over the empire to admire its 


218 JAPANESE FAIRY TALES 


splendor and take back home stories of a beauty 
they had never dreamed of before. 

Yet all this time, even when the golden wind- 
bells, tinkling in the mouths of the phoenixes that 
hung along the temple eaves, seemed to sing his 
fame in the evening breezes, did not the artist 
forget the tree spirit that first told him to be pure 
and to persevere. But one night in a dream, 
when sleeping under the old home roof, the sil¬ 
very white crane again appeared to him, yet this 
time silent, with no message. 

“ Speak,” said the once farmer lad, now a great 
master, who had many pupils in art. “ How can 
I express my grateful heart for your kindness to 
me? I have fame, honor, and wealth, besides 
the joy of serving the lord Buddha in making his 
temples beautiful, and the Emperor’s palace 
glorious, besides caring for my old father and 
mother. What may I do for thee, my guardian 
spirit? ” 

“ Lord Buddha will ever incline the children 
of Japan to treat gently the snowy heron and 
the silk-white cranes forever; but do you and 
your successors, on the panel, the tray, the screen, 
and the writing box make the crane and heron 
comrades of the gold-lacquered mountains and 
trees, the landscape and the rice-fields. Let 
them preen their feathers, or soar in the air, or 
bask in the red disk of the morning sun, or amid 


GIFT OF GOLD LACQUER 219 

the curling spray of the ocean disport themselves 
in joy. Thus let all the world, for a whole banzai, 
or a thousand generations, be grateful for the 
gift of the lacquer tree.” 

And to this day it is appointed that dull clay 
can win a glistening robe only in the kiln while 
the tree juice finds its body in moisture. Shin¬ 
ing gold and brilliant colors rise out of the fire, 
while lacquer owes its richest lustre to the mys¬ 
tery of water. Even yet, alike on the landscape 
warmed by the sun and on the picture wrought 
by the artist, the snowy heron steps daintily and 
the white crane flies to the mountain. So shall 
it ever be in Everlasting Great Japan. 











^UG 7 - 1923 

































































